› added 4 years ago

57

TIL that professor Farnsworth from Futurama is named after the man who invented television.

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Oo5E4 TIL that Prince Philip was not allowed to invite his three sisters to his wedding to Princess (now Queen) Elizabeth in 1947, because they were all married to German noblemen, and this would have been considered inappropriate in postwar Britain.
5Yk4D TIL that before raised scaffolds were used for hangings, a condemned person’s relatives could pull on their legs in the hope of occasioning a quicker death.
E1g1o TIL the British Army developed a salute with the palm facing outwards. The Royal Navy instead adopted a version with the palm facing downwards, as many men working on ships had dirty palms and to display them was disrespectful. The United States Armed Forces would later use the Royal Navy's version.
8elaa TIL that the idea of a Potemkin Village was used in multiple countries to cover up an unpleasant or damaging part of town. It derived from stories of a former lover of Catherine II who wanted to impress her so he made portable villages and moved them to reuse in the next part of Crimea, 1787
D1oJg TIL Scientists found species of fungi in Chernobyl that feed on the radiation for energy.