› added 5 years ago

109

TIL Pistachios crack themselves. I always assumed they were run through some sort of industrial nutcracker prior to packaging. But apparently when they ripen, the shells suddenly pop open and even make an audible crack. Chinese legend says witnessing this will bring the hearer good luck.

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p5A4 TIL that an English composer, Jeremiah Clarke, couldn’t decide if he should commit suicide by hanging or drowning himself. He flipped a coin and after the coin landed on its edge in the mud he went home and shot himself instead.
nXJd TIL that without the Moon the Earth’s axis would shift unpredictably and seasons would not be constant
eaLg TIL that the word “idiot”, in Athenian democracy, referred to a person who was selfish and concerned only about their private affairs, while having no interest in public concerns at all.
l7RQa TIL The circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long, which is indeed more than twice the Earth's circumference
obor TIL that Colorado is not a perfect rectangle. Along the west border with Utah it goes at a slight angle and then continues straight again due to surveyors making a mistake.