› added 4 months ago

18

TIL in traditional Chinese culture, hanging was believed to let a person’s spirit haunt and torment survivors and was used as revenge by women and as defiance by powerless officials. They would often approached it ceremonially, including proper attire.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

woNv8 TIL that Ivan IV “the Terrible” of Russia once tried to woo Elizabeth I of England and wrote her a letter blaming her lack of authority on her sex when she turned him down.
EgVl0 TIL that only one actor has been in 2 out of the 3 films that have won 11 Oscars: Bernard Hill, who played Captain Edward Smith in Titanic (1997) and Theoden, King of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). No one is 3 for 3, either, as the third film is Ben-Hur (1959).
pYxjO TIL at the 2005 London Marathon, Paula Radcliffe, in desperate need of a toilet break during the race, stopped by the roadside in full view of the crowd and live TV cameras to defecate. She still won with a time of 2:17:42, a world's best time for a women's only race by over a minute at the time.
9YYZ6 TIL that in 1914, four empires claimed to be successors to the Roman Empire; the German Empire, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire and Italian Empire. All of them collapsed because of WW1 except for the Italian Empire, leaving them as the only empire to claim succession from the Roman Empire.
GYYG5 TIL that in the Hamilton Musical, a R&B/Hip hop style Broadway musical about the forming of the USA, there is a reference/inspiration taken from Biggie Smalls "Juicy"