› added 2 years ago

99

TIL Shen Fu Tsong was the first recorded Chinese person to step foot in Britain. Tsong cataloged the Chinese collection in the Bodleian Library, showed the librarian how to hold Chinese books, and explained their contents. King James II had Tsong's portrait painted and hung in his bed chamber.

Read more beatlyzer.com

via beatlyzer.com

4Kdw TIL that a French chemist unboiled an egg
eAL TIL a kamikaze pilot who struck the USS Missouri during WWII was given a military burial at sea with full honors after the captain decided the young Japanese pilot had done his job to the best of his ability. The dent in the side of the ship remains to this day.
xVoBb TIL tarot decks were originally used to play various card games similar to bridge, and are still used this way in parts of Europe. They did not become widely associated with the occult until more than 300 years after they were invented.
D1o7e TIL about Deep Springs College, a two year, ~26 student college located on a rural California ranch. Tuition is free but students are expected to work on the farm year-round, isolated from all technology and society.
eojn TIL that a short 20 minute catnap can improve alertness and motorskills, and 20 minutes is the best time for a catnap