› added 3 years ago

138

TIL that the first major wave of the bubonic plague was the Justinianic plague of 541-547 A.D. It is named after the Byzantine emperor at the time; Justinian I. The disease killed 20% of the imperial capital and the ensuing pandemic is believed to have killed 25%-60% of Europe's population.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

9YMAm TIL Chernobyl has been safe to visit since 2011 and that most of the danger is not from radiation but from unmaintained structures.
eK14 TIL judges will almost never instruct the jury that they are free to disregard the law; but if the jury disregards the law on its own initiative, then the verdict stands.
XEomP TIL In the 1920s, almost half of Indiana residents were in the KKK. Infiltrating all levels of government including the Governor’s office.
wLjm8 TIL sloth’s hands work opposite from our own. They close to relax and exert energy to open, which is what allows them to hang from the canopy for extended periods of time and sleep while hanging from a tree.
nemPo TIL Pandas will sometimes fake pregnancies to receive more food and special treatment from humans