› added 4 years ago

54

Til that the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the wonders of the ancient world, only stood for 54 years. It then fell over onto the land after an earthquake, where it was visited by tourists for over 800 years.

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womAP TIL: The phrase "A jack of all trades" is actually a compliment. I always thought this was an insult to those who did multiple things rather than specializing in something until I learned the full phrase: "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one."
yVWbJ TIL about a banned French dish that involves consuming a small bird, called an Ortolan Bunting, whole, bones and all. It's been outlawed due to the species almost becoming extinct, and the controversy of preparing the bird. The bird is force-fed millet to fatten it up and then drowned in Armagnac
ne11W TIL that Buzz Aldrin was the first man to urinate on the moon.
JGRj TIL the island of Puerto Rico was originally named “San Juan Bautista” and the capital city was called “Puerto Rico”. Eventually traders and visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San Juan became the name used for the main port and the capital city.
xV7P1 TIL Sigmund Freud's books were burned by the Nazis he said, "What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now, they are content with burning my books."