› added 11 years ago

623

TIL Galileo’s middle finger is up for display at a museum in Florence, Italy

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via reddit.com

LQdJZ TIL that it can rain diamonds on Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn due to the extreme atmospheric pressures, crystallizing carbon atoms into diamonds. Researchers have recreated these conditions in labs to prove it's possible on Neptune and Uranus and speculate Saturn could see as much as 2.2M.
p8BGZ TIL That pencils never actually contained lead, people just called it that cause they thought graphite was a type of lead.
6oX8 TIL that in 1942, 13-year-old Seaman Calvin Graham was decorated for valor in battle. Then his mother learned where he’d been and revealed his secret to the Navy.
vg57 TIL ancient Rome’s toilets were not hooked up to the extensive sewer system but into nearby open cesspits
9Yv1Q TIL about the Wood Frog. These frogs have adapted to cold climates by freezing over the winter. During this time, they stop breathing and their hearts stop beating. Their bodies produce a special antifreeze substance that prevents ice from freezing within their cells