› added 8 years ago

282

TIL that the last descendant of the ancient Egyptian language, Coptic, died as a spoken language by the 1600s. It has survived until today as the language of religious services of Egypt’s 10% Christian minority-the Copts. The alphabet uses Greek letters plus extra letters deriving from hieroglyphics

Read more wikipedia.org

via ift.tt

OYKg TIL that in British Medieval representations of the devil, he is portrayed with two penises so he can have sex in both orifices of a woman at the same time.
AD0Da TIL in Gene Roddenberry’s show ‘The Lieutenant,’ an episode that dealt with racism was produced, but NBC refused to air it and cancelled the show a week later. Roddenberry later found that setting 'Star Trek’ in the future let him address social issues without interference from TV networks.
dD4G8 TIL for the ancient Maya, turkeys were considered gifted with exceptional powers and harmful to humans from the nocturnal and dream space. They are portrayed as godlike figures in Maya religious imagery, and at least one Maya ruler included the word for turkey in his royal nickname.
kO5MW TIL originally built as only a hunting lodge for King Francois I, Chateau de Chambord contains 440 rooms and 365 fireplaces. It is so large that the Loire was rumored to be diverted to make room.
b9jnE TIL about Twilight sleep, a procedure used for labor in the early 1900s. Women were drugged, restrained in a dark room with gauze on their eyes and ears plugged. The purpose of the drugs was to cause the women to forget the childbirth, not prevent pain, as they were still conscience the whole time.