› added 12 years ago

175

TIL there is a snail with iron armor.

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via reddit.com

d409 TIL that each Voyager spacecraft has a gold record on it that includes (among other things) a copy of Johnny B. Goode
KOd5R TIL that the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been held by one and the same Muslim family since 1517. This is a way of maintaining a neutral guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, since the church is split between multiple Christian denominations.
x75w TIL In 82BC Sulla became the first Roman General to march his army on Rome and began killing all his opponents. One fled, and despite warning that there was danger in him he was pardoned. This young man would later become the second general in Roman history to march his army on Rome, Julius Caesar.
gM9P9 TIL that cobalt (as in cobalt blue) is named for the German word for goblin, Kobold. It got the name because cobalt hinders the extraction of silver, and emits toxic fumes when burned, leading to the deaths of several miners. Mine-dwelling goblins were blamed for leaving behind these ‘cursed’ rocks.
l7W41 TIL 9-yr-old Jodie Foster was mauled by a lion on the set of Napoleon and Samantha, leaving her with scars on her back & stomach. While being held sideways in its mouth & shook "like a doll", she saw the crew running off. The lion did drop her when told to, but it left her with lifelong ailurophobia