› added 4 months ago

8

TIL during a voyage searching for the Northwest Passage, John Ross saw a range of mountains blocking the entrance to Lancaster Sound, causing him to abandon his search. Later expeditions proved that the mountains did not exist, and that Lancaster Sound was an open entrance to the Northwest Passage.

yVoVv TIL about Mary Louvestre; an African-American Civil War spy who delivered details about the construction of the Confederacy's first ironclad into Union hands by tracing plans her employer had using her seamstress skills.
VBbGG TIL by 2006, ‘Eric the eel’ from the 2000 Olympics improved his performance to within 4 seconds of the actual world record.
8aMAZ TIL during WWI all Army recruits underwent intelligence testing, the largest mass testing that had ever been attempted before. By the end of the war, close to 2 million soldiers had been tested. As a result of the tests roughly half of the recruits were classified at or below the level of "moron"
OoLbR TIL A Saturday morning cartoon called ProStars starred three professional athletes from the 1990's - Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky & Bo Jackson. During it's 13 episode run, the show centered around the three athletes fighting crime, helping children, and often protecting the environment.
9Zr TIL Pope Stephen VI put his dead predecessor Pope Formosus on trial, dressed in Papal gowns and found him guilty of disloyalty and of grasping for ecclesial power. His punishment was 3 broken fingers and being thrown in the Tiber.