› added 2 years ago

44

TIL: Shakespeare's parents were illiterate. It’s quite likely that John and Mary Shakespeare never learned to read or write, John was known to sign his name with an X.

Read more history.com

via reddit.com

ae59 TIL that to show how Classical Chinese had become an impractical language, linguist Chao Yuen Ren wrote a 92-character poem in which every syllable has the sound “shi”. The poem “Shī Shì shí shī shǐ” translates to “Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den”.
a8pGo TIL Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera was the first black athlete to become an Olympic gold medalist as a member of the France squad that won the title at the first Olympic rugby tournament at Paris in 1900. He also won the bronze in the tug of war at the same Games.
rR5N0 TIL in Texas Hold 'em, an Ace-King of any suit combination is occasionally referred to as an Anna Kournikova, derived from the initials AK and because it "looks really good but rarely wins."
OoZXg TIL that feeding silkworm larvae mulberry leaves sprayed with fabric dye results in the dye being transported along the biochemical pathways of the silkworm to produce a colored cocoon and colored silk fibre.
VBMKp TIL during WWI, the US Army called upon elderly Confederates to teach its recruits the famous "rebel yell" so they could use it when going over the top