› added 1 year ago

43

TIL that Louisiana is an observer state of the Francophonie

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

9YmZB TIL that the very first Nobel Prize in Physics went to Wilhelm Röntgen for his discovery of X-rays.
D10og TIL In 2014, Christians in South Korea put up a giant Christmas tree which was visible from the North Korean border. The North Koreans claimed it was a tool for psychological warfare and demanded it be taken down. The defence ministry claimed the was dismantled for safety concerns.
0d8gp TIL that the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León was killed after being struck by an arrow poisoned with manchineel sap. A present-day Spanish name is manzanilla de la muerte, "little apple of death". This refers to the fact that manchineel is one of the most toxic trees in the world.
awXwZ TIL of "The Family Shakespeare", a 19th century version of Shakespeare's works that attempted to edit them to make them suitable for children. Very popular during the 1800s, it is now widely criticized as an example of literary censorship.
Dmkp TIL that the US wanted to switch completely to the metric system and is still going slowly towards it