› added 7 years ago

183

TIL that Geoffrey Tandy, a cryptogamist (algae specialist) who was mistakenly hired by Bletchley Park, significantly contributed to breaking the Enigma cipher, utilising his expertise to preserve otherwise unsalvageable codebooks from a torpedoed U-boat

Read more nhm.ac.uk

via reddit.com

wooL8 TIL Women taking the contraceptive pill can skip periods indefinitely. If you choose to skip the placebo pills each month there is no requirement to take a ‘break’ from the active pills. Ever.
J9Y8 TIL that Bill Murray considers Groundhog Day the movie he was born to make and probably the best work that he has done. Before that movie he was seen largely as a clown. After it, he was a complex actor with range.
GY7Rg TIL of the Peshtigo fire. It burned over a million acres while claiming at least 1500 lives. It occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire and has largely been forgotten.
76bb TIL that certain “suicide bridges” have installed special telephones with a connection to a suicide hotline incase you feel the need to jump.
m6yp TIL that 64% of people bite the head off the gingerbread before eating the rest of it.