› added 5 years ago

95

TIL of Edward Katskee, a scientist who accidentally overdosed on Cocaine after he purposefully injected himself with a large dose of to test how it affected the human body. He attempted to write notes on the walls of his office as he died. They were deemed too illegible to be scientifically useful.

P17VL TIL a B-17 gunner named Maynard Harrison Smith put out an ammunition fire during a battle by urinating on it. He later earned a Medal of Honor.
Z8QdG TIL around 3000 ethnic groups around the world use insects as a source of food. Insect eating is common in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. 80% of the world's nations eat insects of 1000 to 2000 species. About 2 billion people worldwide regularly consume insects.
W7EQd TIL that the expression "i have a bridge to sell you" is a reference to George Parker who conned people into buying the Brooklyn bridge
Br6GD TIL that historians believe that the worst year on earth was 536. This included a volcanic eruption that spewed ash so far that the earth lost the sun for a year, deadly famines, a plague, and a small ice age. Historians also believe that this year started the end of the Byzantine and Roman Empires
yBLa TIL that there is in fact gravity at the international space station. So much so that someone that weighs 100 lbs on earth would weigh 90 on the station. The reason they float isn’t due to a lack of gravity, but rather because the astronauts are in a perpetual free fall.