› added 10 years ago

88

TIL that the Hindenburg airship was said to be so stable that a pen or pencil could be stood on a table without falling. Its launches were so smooth that passengers often missed them, believing that the airship was still docked to its mooring mast.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

OoVNe TIL that the Maharaja(Indian King) of Jamnagar took in and agreed to look after 1000 orphaned Polish children — Jews and Catholics alike — who faced an uncertain future during World War II. The Maharaja told the children, “You may not have your parents, but I am your father now.”
yQOrp TIL that the term "Lesbian" stems from the Ancient Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos who lived from 620-570 BCE. Her poetry portrays homoerotic feelings and she wrote over 10,000 lines of poetry. However, even though her works were widely known only 650 lines survive today.
yyjl TIL you can sail in any direction relative to the wind at speeds faster than the wind.
myap TIL Jane Goodall was first mocked by scientists for her findings and told animals do not have feelings (tell that to dog owners) nor use tools
M6nm TIL Soviet NKVD (KGB) chief Genrikh Yagoda was arrested and shot in 1938. His successor, Nikolai Yezhov, was arrested and shot in 1940. His successor, Lavrentiy Beria, was arrested and shot in 1953.