› added 11 years ago

206

TIL that oxford dictionary inserted a fictitious word “Esquivalience” in order to protect copyright of the publication. The fake entry was included in dictionary.com.

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d85Md TIL Ancient Egyptian mummies were discovered to have traces of Nicotine, Hashish and Cocaine. The Coca Plant being native at the time to South America leads to speculation of trans-oceanic transport in ancient times.
0wQY5 TIL When the first steam engine was built in 1804, people were worried that the speed would make rail passengers unable to breathe or that they would be shaken unconscious by the vibrations
X45j TIL there is a species of wasp that subdues a cockroach with two precise stings, takes it to its burrow by pulling on its antennae like a leash, blocks the entrance with pebbles, and then lays an egg inside the cockroaches’ body so that the baby wasp can feed on the zombie cockroach for days.
R5anQ TIL that a groom from Canada rescued a drowning boy from water during wedding photo shoot
EgyJW TIL Tetris is called Tetris because of the Greek prefix “tetra” which means four, which is how many blocks are in a Tetris piece.