› added 12 years ago

235

TIL Muslims do not “struggle” to pray in space, and Islamic scholars have convened on the topic twice and published their scholarly opinions in “Muslim Obligations in the International Space Station”

Read more wired.com

via reddit.com

6Eg0Y TIL almost all the stones/rocks used in the sport Curling is from the small uninhabited Scottish island, Ailsa Craig. The only other source of the stones is a quarry in Wales.
W7krA TIL that after the failed Paris Commune in 1871, many of its supporters were exiled to the French dependency New Caledonia in the Pacific. The majority of them were eventually granted amnesty by president Adolfe Thiers in 1879, and allowed to return to France.
rR8Ay TIL Russia has an (semi?) automatic system that can detect a nuclear attack and launch intercontinental ballistic missiles even if their entire government has collapsed and nobody is there to give the command
wLxgW TIL the rise of disposable cups came in the early 20th century to stop the outbreak of communicable disease spread by the practice of sharing water dippers and communal cups in public places. Because the cups are meant for a single person to use and discard, people started to call them 'solo' cups.
9blQ TIL After President Carter retired, he started an effort to eradicate the Guinea Worm, which infected millions of people with worms that slowly and painfully burrow out of the body over 3 months. By 2001, the infection rate was reduced by 98%, with 80% of the remaining cases in the Sudan warzone.