› added 4 years ago

282

Today I learned giraffes are frequently struck and killed by lightening strikes due to their towering height.

Read more cbsnews.com

via reddit.com

grBkb TIL for 18 days in 1520, Henry VIII & Francis I convened a celebration of "unmatched proportions" called The Field of Cloth of Gold which cost the equivalent of £15m ($19m). Ostensibly organized as an affirmation of the 2 kings’ friendship, it also afforded them both the chance “to outdo the other".
WvPo TIL of Kursk, a Russian submarine that sank in August of 2000 due to an accident involving poorly maintained torpedoes. None of the crew survived due to old, poorly maintained Russian rescue equipment and the Russian Navy’s refusal to accept Western aid.
LgQr TIL Because vinyl was so scarce and expensive in the USSR, bootleggers figured out a way to print records on old discarded X-ray films.
kbwg TIL: A woman named Alicia Head claimed to be a survivor of the 911 attacks at the WTC under the name Tania Head. She joined the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network support group, later becoming its president and was frequently mentioned in media reports. Her story was revealed to be a hoax in 2007
Br6bb TIL Albrecht von Wallenstein was the most successful Catholic general of the 30 years war, upon realizing the war was futile and could last decades he tried to organize peace only to be assassinated by his emperor. He was proven right with the war lasting another 14 years and 6 million more dead