› added 12 years ago

58

TIL that in Yakutia Russia, temperatures become so cold that trees explode, blue sparks fly from falling timber, mercury freezes and exhaled breathe is transformed into a shower of ice crystals called “the whisper of the stars”.

Read more mikaelstrandberg.com

via reddit.com

9waM TIL Sperm whale oil was still a key component in automatic transmission fluid until 1972!
R7A74 TIL In France, one out of every three light bulbs is lit thanks to Nigerien uranium. In Niger, nearly 90% of the population has no access to electricity.
jrKj TIL Valve has a flat organisation structure where everybody has an equal voice and anybody can ship a product
Lk74V TIL Dorothy Stang, an American nun who dedicated her life to preserving the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. She helped the poor by teaching them how to harvest products from the forest and sought to protect peasants from gangs working for farmers. She was murdered by criminals hired by a rancher.
jN99a TIL the civil war era Fort Montgomery, near the New York/Canada border, is a privately-held 86 acre estate that has been on the market for decades. Peak asking price was $9 MIL in 2006 but the current listing is under $1MIL.