› added 8 years ago

2054

TIL there’s a macabre science around “beating heart” corpses. In many cases, doctors and health care providers aren’t sure who’s dead. There’s also the “Lazarus Effect” where a corpse will sit upright, raise its arms and cross them in front of their chest.

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1AgX TIL between 1970 and 1973, four Israeli fighter pilots translated The Hobbit from English to Hebrew to pass the time in an Egyptian prison, where they were held as POWs. The pilots’ translation was published commercially in 1977, and up until 2012 was considered the best Hebrew version of the book.
GYoN1 TIL of Alex Zanardi, a Formula One driver who lost both of his legs in a major crash in 2001. After, he designed and built his own custom prosthetics for racing. He started racing again in specialised touring cars. He also took up handcycling, and won medals in both the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.
eG9n TIL Leonardo DiCaprio was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when he first kicked.
wLBYW TIL that the Prince hit “Purple Rain” was actually recorded in front of an audience at a charity event and that guitarist Wendy Melvoin was only 19 at the time and playing the song live for the very first time.
lo1pK TIL a gannet named Nigel, was dubbed "the loneliest bird in the world" due to the absence of any other birds of his species on his island. Conservationists built fake concrete birds to attract more birds but Nigel ended up falling in love with one the decoys.