› added 11 years ago

70

TIL Erwin Rommel on being condemned to death for the July 20th plot against Adolf Hitler, chose an offer of suicide and took a cyanide pill, both to protect his staff and as a ‘blood guilt’ (Sippenhaft) law meant that his family would have been punished as well, and in this way both could be spared.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

gYpy TIL Sic is an adverb used to indicate that quoted matter is transcribed exactly, including any errors. Use of sic greatly increased in the mid-twentieth century, with a major factor being the use of sic as a form of ridicule.
694Vm TIL about The Crédit Mobilier scandal. A two-part fraud conducted from 1864 to 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the first transcontinental railroad.
Eg61w TIL about the $50 science kit that had real Uranium. The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab (1950s) was meant for kids. The kit included a cloud chamber for viewing particle physics, a Geiger counter for monitoring radiation levels and measuring radioactive decay, as well as radioactive ore.
wokm7 TIL Ancient Roman texts describe a tell for pathicus - a derogatory term that describes the passive man in same-sex acts. When a man scratches his head with only one finger, that was the tell of a pathicus because he was careful not to disturb is hairdo.
9YJp6 TIL the average human body temperature has decreased over the last century and is likely due to improved health. Temperature of men born in the early to mid-1990s is on average 1.06 F lower than that of men born in the early 1800s.