› added 4 years ago

140

TIL that Cuban ballet dancers are arguably the country’s most esteemed export, they often earn more money than doctors, and they perform locally to the type of cheering crowd that in the USA would be reserved for pop stars

Read more pbs.org

via reddit.com

OoEjg TIL: The mushrooms from the Super Mario games are based on a real life mushroom called Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). When eaten, the mushroom gives the sensation of growth.
VM4bk TIL the first gladiatorial game of Ancient Rome was held in the city's cattle market in 264 BCE, where funeral celebrations for a former consul included combat between six war captives. Initially competitions of courage to honor the dead, gladiator matches were not publicly sponsored for 160 years.
4lWN TIL that the woman who invented chocolate chip cookies sold the idea to Nestlé in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate
e0PB4 TIL What is dead may never die: Astronomers discovered a "zombie" star that went supernova in 1954...then exploded again in 2014. According to the study's lead author, "This supernova breaks everything we thought we knew about how they work."
d8Q1K TIL Edward James Olmos was offered the role of captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation before Patrick Stewart