› added 8 years ago

98

TIL that the Japanese imperial succession law barring women from the throne is only about 140 years old, and not ancient tradition. The rule was changed when Japan was modernizing to match Prussia’s succession rules, as Japan looked up to the rising European superpower.

gJ6y TIL on May 23rd, 1967 the U.S. air force was set to initiate a nuclear strike against Russia after a sudden disruption of their radar detection systems. They were ordered to stand down after the then recently created Solar Forecasting Center determined that solar flares had caused the disruption
kVj1 TIL that Thor Heyerdahl stated that ancient people from South America could have settled in Polynesia, but most anthropologists didn’t believe him. So in 1947 he built a primitive raft and made the 101-day journey himself.
jNprE TIL of a Fake Shemp, a disguised actor that is meant to replace another actor in a film. It's named after Joe Palma standing in for Shemp Howard in the last four Three Stooges shorts after Howard's death.
mxj1y TIL that Thomas Jefferson made his own version of the Bible, called The Jefferson Bible, by literally cutting and pasting passages from Greek, Latin, French, and English bibles that referenced Jesus' moral teachings, but left out his miracles.
b9P99 TIL about Alliance to Rescue Civilization, a group devoted to the establishment of an off-Earth "backup" facility of human civilization. It would serve to repopulate the Earth after a worldwide disaster such as pandemic or war.