Post * VBlNB — Curious Curator

› added 1 year ago

58

TIL Catholic services were preformed with the priest facing away from the audience until the 1960’s.

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RrKj TIL that, in 1986, US Congress passed a bill to impose sanctions against South Africa because of apartheid. Reagan vetoed it. But Congress overrode his veto. This foreign policy override was the first of its kind in the 20th century.

NXYn6 TIL about Prototaxites, an exctinct genus of fungi that lived around 400 million years ago. They could rich 1m (3 ft) in width and 8m (26 ft) in length, making them by far the largest land-dwelling organism of their time.

Y7kAd Today I learned Mauritania, a country located in West Africa still practices slavery even though it was abolished in 1981 then criminalized in 2007 making it the last country to do so.

QJnYp TIL about Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson, who taught himself to play piano at the age of two, played with Lionel Hampton when he was 5, was the first black entertainer at the White House Correspondents dinner when he was 8, recorded for Capitol Records (with two hits) from 9-12 then retired from music.

rN6G0 TIL a fungus infects ants' central nervous systems. Once it has been in an insect for 9 days, it acquires full control. It forces the ant to climb trees, then convulse and fall into the moist soil. Once there, the fungus waits until solar noon to force the ant to bite a leaf and wait for death.