› added 5 years ago

185

TIL that the Byzantine emperor Basil II captured over 15,000 Bulgars. He ordered 99% of the prisoners to have both of their eyes gouged out, and left the 1% with one eye left to guide the others back to their king. This is how Basil earned the title "the Bulgar Slayer"

Read more ancient.eu

via reddit.com

b6B9Z TIL: Being wealthy makes you much more likely to get to play college sports. Students from families in the highest 20% of income have nearly 3x better chances of getting to play college sports than do students from families in the bottom 20% of income.
E1ryw TIL during the WWI Battle of Gallipoli, casualties were so horrific the Turks and Allied forces entered a ceasefire to bury the dead, during which the opposing armies traded cigarettes & souvenirs. After realizing their enemy weren't as evil as they thought, the Turks began to surrender en masse.
0py1 TIL the greatest weight ever lifted by a human being was for backlifting 6270 pounds (2840 kg) that was raised slightly off trestles by Paul Edward Anderson.
ZZxD TIL reddit’s total worth is approximated at about 147 million
4X9w5 People like to imagine that they’re the pinnacle of evolution, but the animal kingdom suggests otherwise. The discovery that bumblebees use hair on their legs to detect a flower’s electromagnetic field offers another reminder that human senses don’t always measure up. You share the planet with creatures that can smell veins, see colors you can’t imagine, and communicate through their feet. Here are just a few animals with senses sharper than yours.