› added 9 months ago

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TIL the arabic word for Hell, "Jahannam", is directly derived from Gehenna, a valley in Jerusalem.

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Bgvjd TIL: Viking-era Scandinavians believed every person had a sort of luck spirit that could leave the body under extreme circumstances. The English saying that someone’s luck has run out is actually an adaptation of a Norse proverb. But when the Norse said it, they meant it literally.
wQRE TIL that during the Third Crusade 84% of the crusader army went home because the Holy Roman Emperor drowned in a river.
xV7mg TIL locusts are not a species. They are actually grasshoppers which have developed gregarious characteristics in suitable environmental conditions forming an organized group
QNJwa TIL NASA worked with a company to create a material called translucent polycrystalline alumina (TPA). It was intended to protect infrared antennas on heat-seeking missiles. This material would later be used for invisible braces due to its strength and transparency.
1aYP TIL a feral child abandoned by her parents at the age of 3, was raised by dogs until the age of 8, acquired extremely acute senses of hearing, smell, and sight.