› added 5 years ago

613

TIL that from 1334 to 1827 graduates of Oxford and Cambridge were required to swear an oath that they would not lecture outside these two English universities, as a consequence there were no new universities established in England until Durham University became England's third university in 1832.

Read more historytoday.com

via reddit.com

9Y18Q TIL that according to an analysis of 1.6 billion words from 41,829 issues of 132 newspapers from 1830 to 1860, George Washington's 1796 Farewell Address was still "going viral" nearly half a century after it was first published
X0naQ TIL when East Germany reunified with West Germany in 1990, the German government withdrew East Germany banknotes from circulation, but instead of burning them, they let them rot in a concrete bunker until two people broke in and stole a large quantity of notes in 2001. Then what was left was burned.
0YRv TIL the British were not always heavy tea drinkers. They only switched to tea after an introduced plant rust wiped out most of the world’s coffee crops in the late 1800s.
b9474 TIL I learned of Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who appeared on the TV show "The Dating Game", after he had already killed numerous people. He was said to have an IQ of 160, and interrogated himself on the witness stand during his trial, in Smeagol/Gollum fashion, switching voices and demeanor.
nQEo TIL in Norse mythology, during the events of Ragnörak, there is a ship made entirely of the untrimmed nails of the dead that will carry hordes to do battle with the Gods. It’s important to keep those nails trimmed so you don’t contribute to building it.