› added 4 months ago

18

TIL Heard Island and McDonald Islands contain Australia's only two active volcanoes

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b6nA4 TIL that in Wuppertal, Germany in 1950, the circus elephant Tuffi broke through a window of a moving overhead railway and fell 12 metres down in a river, while on promotion tour for a circus. Luckily she survived with minor injuries.
wLgvM TIL that a British midshipman, Wenman Wykeham-Musgrave, managed to survive the torpedoing and sinking of three different warships -- within the space of about an hour
xVrn7 TIL An 8-month-old pit bull in California was hailed a hero after she alerted her family of a fire in their apartment complex by barking like crazy on the back door. Once inside, the pit bull ran to save their 7-month-old daughter by pulling her by her diaper and dragging her off the bed.
GZEj TIL During the 9th century AD, two Vikings graffitied their names in the runes of Hagia Sophia. These carvings have survived since the Byzantium era, and are still viewable in modern-day Istanbul.
E1EDx TIL that the town of Honiton U.K, has a "Hot Penny Day", a parade where children collect thrown coins. The tradition was purportedly started by wealthy people, whom would heat pennies on a stove, throw them into the streets, and laugh at the peasants burning their fingers while picking them up.