› added 12 years ago

108

TIL that the English word ‘assassin’ comes from the Arabic 'hashashin,’ or “hashish-eater,” the name of an 11th century Muslim sect that would intoxicate themselves with hashish before killing a person of public standing

Read more books.google.co.uk

via reddit.com

ord8 TIL A Roman chariot racer called Gaius Appuleius Diocles is the highest paid sportsman in history. His total winnings earned him around £10bn in today’s money.
xVLl0 TIL Japan's high schools often have strict standards of conformity regarding hair color. Half of Tokyo's schools require students whose hair is not naturally black to provide baby pictures as proof; in 2017 a Japanese student sued her school after being forced to darken her hair with dye.
xgXo TIL Alexander Graham Bell developed the metal detector as a last ditch effort to locate a bullet lodged in the chest of American President James Garfield in 1881; the attempt was unsuccessful because the metal coil spring bed Garfield was lying on confused the detector.
b9gVE TIL a terrier named Igloo traveled to both the North and South Poles in the 1920s as a companion to his human, explorer Admiral Richard Bird. He chased penguins, picked fights with the sled dogs, and had a camel-hair suit made for him to keep him warm. His headstone is shaped like an iceberg.
9wv17 TIL: During the filming of 'Dexter,' actor Jimmy Smits accidentally grabbed a real knife and stabbed a stuntman in the chest; the stuntman survived unharmed due to the blade hitting a post-it note sized piece of plastic covering his heart.