› added 1 year ago

42

TIL There is a Mineral called Lonsdaleite which is 58% harder than conventional Diamonds

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

v1Dg8 TIL that because of Marie curie's affair with Paul Langevin, Swedish Academy of Sciences tried to dissuade her from coming to Stockholm to receive her Nobel prize(1911) so that the "adulteress" should not shake hands with the Swedish king.
YpmYA TIL that Pittsburgh put up "Kindness Zone: BE NICE / ALL DAY EVERY DAY" street signs this year as part of a statewide campaign to honor Mr. Rogers
E1jrx TIL Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya ordered the execution of every one of his daughters upon birth. When he learned that sixteen of his daughters had escaped notice and had grown to adulthood, he invited them to a reception, greeted them kindly and then beheaded all of them.
e0DwJ TIL that rye and oats used to be considered weeds in wheat fields. Because they would get weeded out if they didn't look like wheat, they also evolved to have large seeds. Eventually, their hardiness compared to wheat meant they were grown as food in colder climates.
awegL TIL In 1940 40 Wall street was worth less than its elevators had cost. The structure as a whole was worth $1.25 million, less than the 43 elevators in the building.40 Wall Street had opened following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and so suffered from lack of tenants.