› added 10 years ago

390

TIL there is a genus called “Han” which contains only one species: Han Solo

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

PwRg TIL lions are called “king of the jungle” because “jungle” derives from a Hindi word meaning “uninhabited place”. They typically live in savannas and grasslands.
BROL TIL The word “font” actually only refers to things like ‘bold’ or 'italics’ and the actual style of the letters is called a 'typeface’
8aGoG TIL that capacitive touchscreens (the kind in smartphones) emit a small ammount of electricity and when you touch it, your finger absorbs some of the electricity. This is how your phone knows the difference between an eraser and your finger.
N9xe TIL that JRR Tolkien never said that hobbits have disproportionately large feet. They were an invention of illustrators that were copied in many other adaptations and derivative works.
xVgYD TIL That Down Syndrome named as such because the term "Mongolian Idiocy" is deemed offensive and so the family name of the person who published paper about it, John Langdon Down, used to rename the syndrome and that happened long after he died. Down also used to call them "Mongolian Idiots"