› added 2 years ago

127

TIL that in 1992, on a background of high inflation and poor productivity, the British Pound collapsed, costing the UK Government 3.4B Pounds and forcing withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Read more beatlyzer.com

via beatlyzer.com

b6rGQ TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the offer of battle. Trial by combat was abolished the following year.
PYbRg TIL in 2014 the beard of the Golden Mask of Tutankhamun fell off as it was cleaned by Museum employees, trying to cover up their mistake they tried to glue it back on with quick-dry plastic glue, leaving it off-center. This was later noticed and the employees got charged with "reckless destruction".
E1By7 TIL William Pitt the Younger was admitted into Cambridge University at the age of 13 and became UK prime minister at age 24. He is the youngest prime minister in British history.
epaD6 Today I learned that the squid Euprymna scolopes hides its shadow from predators during its nocturnal explorations thanks to the light emitted by a bacteria presents in its mantle, which produces exactly as much light below its body as it receives from above.
mrly TIL In 1951, a scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital created the first immortal human cell line with a tissue sample taken from a young black woman - Henrietta Lacks. Those cells, called HeLa cells, quickly became invaluable to medical research & saved millions of lives.