› added 9 years ago

80

TIL that parts of the Eye of Horus symbol were used by Ancient Egyptians to represent numerical fractions.

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QNjw9 TIL Sten Gustaf Thulin invented the plastic bag as a reusable and sustainable alternative to the deforestation caused by paper bags. He'd always carry his plastic bag in his pocket and envisioned everyone would carry and re-use their plastic bags wherever they'd go.
O6r6 TIL that when Genghis Khan sent a trade caravan to the Khwarezmid empire, the governor of one city seized it and killed the traders. Genghis Khan retaliated by invading the empire with 200,000 men and killing the governor by pouring molten silver down his eyes and mouth
759L TIL that dogs will sneeze before playing and during playing to let whoever/what know that they are simply playing. Dogs also mimic human expressions and yawn to empathetically yawn to bond with humans.
XGlr TIL that a Pew survey in 2010 found that Atheists/Agnostics are one of the highest scoring groups when it comes to general religious knowledge
G405 TIL in 1974 the U.S. National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals advised, “no new [prisons] should be built and existing institutions for juveniles should be closed…There is overwhelming evidence that [prisons] create crime rather than prevent it.”