› added 11 years ago

145

TIL that Shrapnel is named after its inventor, Henry Shrapnel.

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via reddit.com

P150g TIL Weng Wenhao, the founder of modern Chinese geology and modern Chinese oil industry also served as President of China in 1948
gEbD TIL the surviving SEAL from the events that inspired Lone Survivor supports the Afgani man who saved him with royalties from the book.
vP0vx TIL of a research which states that speed-watching of online materials positively impacts the comprehension of those materials.
9YlmM TIL it's estimated that 16% of the world's gold and 22% of the world's silver is contained in Japan's electronics alone- so much that Japan is asking its citizens to donate old electronics to make the Olympic medals.
6Ebwm TIL about the presocratic philosopher Empedocles. He claimed to have magical powers and a divine status, and would walk around Sicily in a large purple robe. Apparently, he died when he jumped into Etna, an active volcano, to prove to his followers that he really was a god.