› added 2 years ago

60

TIL that Titanic survivor Jack Thayer wrote an account of the sinking in 1940, that was so accurate that it helped Robert Ballard pinpoint where the wreck of the ship was.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

gyBW TIL Scientists put slime mold onto a model of a map of Tokyo, with food representing urban centers. After a day, it created a network almost identical to Tokyo’s actual rail network. Human designers created that network to be as efficient as possible; slime mold did the same, but without a brain
KONmB TIL There used to be millions of Bisons across North America until we hunted them to near extinction
rREjd TIL: As of 2015, Japan's pachinko market generates more gambling revenue than that of Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore combined.
4k466 TIL: Sperm whales are so named because of a waxy substance known as spermaceti found in their heads. This substance was used in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles in olden days leading to these whales being the primary target of the whaling industry
kOM8W TIL that British surveyor Sir George Everest, for whom the mountain is named, actually pronounced his name "EEV-rist."