› added 3 months ago

15

TIL That in 2013, Sir David Attenborough joined the rock guitarists Brian May and Slash in opposing the government's policy on the cull of badgers in the UK by participating in a song dedicated to badgers.

GYMo7 TIL that ancient Egyptians believed in afterlife as the dead's heart was weighted against the feather of Maat, If the dead's heart balanced with the feather of Maat, they would be admitted to heavenly paradise, if their heart was heavier than the feather their souls would be permanently destroyed.
MeBBb TIL that 'growing pains' in kids has nothing to do with growing. Around 20% of kids have night time leg pain, but it's thought more likely due to sports or having a lower pain threshold. The pain is typically gone by morning with no known ongoing issues.
0onM TIL: Plant seeds “know” to grow upwards by sensing gravity. When planted in a spinning wheel, their roots will be tricked by the centrifugal force and grow outwards from the soil
8aLYK TIL that the Northern Royal Albatross take their first flight after about 8 months of age, and then spend the next 3-5 years at sea, never touching land during that time. Many then return to their headland where they born so they can then breed, having flown over 190,000km per year during that time.
oByjK TIL about Masoud, a black slave belonging to Fatimid Caliph Al Hakim. Al Hakim would wander the streets of Cairo looking for deceptive merchants, and when he discovered one he would have Masoud publicly sodomise the man.