› added 11 years ago

83

TIL that in Ancient Rome, if people wished to commit suicide, they applied to the Senate and, if their petitions were approved, were given free hemlock.

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Mm97 TIL because of its very low freezing point, whale oil saw widespread use in the aerospace industry.
LkZVv TIL that in 3000 BC the North Star was not Polaris, but a star called Thuban, because the axis of the earth was pointed in a different direction back then. This is because of the precession of equinoxes speeding and slowing down of the earth's spin through imperceptible intervals.
nee8W TIL the oldest search engine in the world is still online at the ripe old age of 24.
wLm8M TIL That doctors had been inadvertently causing a rise in peanut allergies by telling parents to avoid giving infants peanuts. They discovered Israeli babies are very low risk because of the popularity of the peanut snack Bamba in Israel.
0dplM TIL that “military brat” was not meant as a pejorative. It stands for: British Regiment Attached Traveler. Though its origin is still up for debate.