› added 12 years ago

105

TIL that Google intends to scan all known existing 130 million unique books by the end of the decade.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

b6lNa TIL the bars on exit doors were coined "crash bars" due to the way people crashed into them to escape during emergencies. Before these devices were invented, people were often crushed to death as they tried to escape through doors that wouldn't easily open.
OGDg6 TIL that Mexico City is sinking at a rate of up to 50cm a year
GAXGQ TIL that people of normal weight with the apple body shape are at higher risk of death than overweight or obese people with pear or hourglass shaped bodies
j6GoN TIL of "Mellified man", a medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver in honey that was apparently capable of healing broken limbs and other ailments.
e0yRE TIL About Nikola Petkov, a Bulgarian revolutionary who helped establish Bulgaria as a republic, only to be executed by its government after a show trial when he tried to preserve democracy