› added 12 years ago

137

TIL Tolkein called Bilbo Baggins’s home “Bag End” to make fun of the French “cul-de-sac” used in English.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

M7XV7 TIL that the final bastion of ancient Rome was the Principality of Theodoro on Crimea which lasted till 1475. With the conquest of Mangup by Ottoman forces, the Principality was taking with it the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire, after 2,228 years of existence of Roman civilization.
gMb59 TIL: Around 150 years before bimetallic Euro coins appeared, some bimetallic coins circulated in England. In J. Moore's 1840s privately-made "one penny model," proposed replacements for large copper pennies, a copper donut held a pea-sized silvery Queen Victoria disc. Some shopkeepers accepted them.
YpdoA TIL about “illusion of asymmetric insights” the conviction that we know others better than they know us
J1Jgv TIL french pirate Olivier Levasseur allegedly tossed a necklace containing a puzzle that leads to his treasure into a crowd of people moments before his execution. He told the crowd to go find it if they can.
xmyD TIL That the head of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy is called the First Sea Lord.