› added 4 years ago

269

TIL that the first statue in Athens which was funded by the state without depicting a god/gods, was the one of Armodios and Aristogeiton, who killed the brother of the tyrant Hippias, son of Peisistratos. The event led to intervention by Sparta, and ultimately the democratic reforms of Kleisthenes.

Read more livius.org

via reddit.com

WDL4 TIL the oldest person to have ever lived, Jeanne Calment, aged 122 at death, attributed her longevity to a diet of olive oil, port wine, and 2 pounds of chocolate every week.
grwj4 TIL that Children From Low-Income Households With Rich Friends Are Likely to Earn More in Adulthood
VMAM4 TIL that King Henry loved adding guns to other weapons. His bodyguards carried shields with pistols built into them, and Henry himself had a walking stick that doubled as both a spiked mace and a three-barreled pistol.
6EPwX TIL of the Gympie Gympie or suicide plant Dendrocnide moroides, its hairs can penetrate protective gear. It has a crippling neurotoxin that can last from days to years. Brushing your hand against it can make you throw up from the pain. Using it as toilet paper has made people shoot themselves
YpVxr TIL that, with war looming, President Wilson - had he lost the 1916 election - pragmatically planned to avoid a long lame-duck period by appointing his opponent, Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of State, with Wilson & his VP then resigning, thereby making Hughes president ahead of schedule.