› added 4 years ago

55

TIL that the largest island of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu was originally named "La Austrialia [sic] del Espíritu Santo" - after both the monarchy of Austria (ancestors of the Spanish monarchs) and the Great Southern Continent, Terra Australis (which Australia was later named for)

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

4L46 TIL that Dr Catherine Hamlin and her husband answered an ad in 1958 for an obstetrician and gynaecologist to set up a midwifery school in Ethiopia. She still works there today at the age of 89. Happy International Women’s Day!
E1dpo TIL if your dog stares at you while they poo, they probably think of you as their mommy. this is bc dogs maintain an exposed position while relieving themselves. eye contact w/ someone they view as a protector makes them feel safe -especially at a time when they’re most vulnerable.
69vMQ TIL In Iceland, the tradition of Jólabókaflóð, or the "Christmas Book Flood," involves exchanging books on Christmas Eve and then spending the evening reading. This tradition stems from World War II when paper was one of the few commodities not rationed in Iceland.
5eJ9 TIL that in 2011, Comcast asked its staff to vote on The Consumerist’s “Worst Company in America” poll so they wouldn’t “win”. The Consumerist noticed the traffic from teamcomcast.com and asked them to not “game the system”
alRM TIL China has lost control of its first space station. It will be entering Earth’s atmosphere in 2017, and there is a chance that parts of the station could survive the burn, falling to Earth and causing damage or injuring people