› added 9 years ago

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TIL firing squads issue a blank cartridge to either all-but-one, or one-but-not-all, of the members. No member of the squad is told beforehand if he is using live ammunition. This is called the “conscience round” which allows each member to believe they did not personally fire the fatal shot.

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vgOR TIL that according to the Hawaiian creation myth, our universe comes from the wreckage of another, earlier universe and the only creatures that survived from that alien universe are octopuses
a8jpJ TIL when a pope dies, the cardinal camerlengo confirms the death by gently tapping the pope's head thrice with a silver hammer, calling his birth name each time. He then retrieves the Ring of the Fisherman and cuts it in two. The pope's seals are defaced, and his personal apartment is sealed.
L88d TIL Billiards is called “Pool” because of horse race poolrooms. In the 1800s betting parlors were called poolrooms, “pool” referring to a collective bet. Billiard tables were installed in poolrooms for people to pass time between races. Eventually the phrase “shooting pool” meant playing billiards.
kbKg TIL that the ‘mare’ in nightmare actually refers to an evil spirit in European folklore, which people would believe sat on their chests while they slept, causing unpleasant dreams.
7O9L TIL that because spiders are actually quite resistant to radiation whilst their prey species aren’t, the spider numbers around Chernobyl have exploded, as the spiders can catch the now-weakened prey insects more easily, whilst being resistant to the radioisotopes present in their food