› added 7 years ago

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TIL that when Spanish explorers found the Yucatán Peninsula, they asked what the area was called. The response was "Yucatán" which means "I don't understand what you are saying".

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VoZp TIL that horseshoe crab blood coagulates instantly when encountering one part per trillion of E Coli or Salmonella, and is used medically for detecting those. It also happens to be blue when oxygenated, and clear in the veins. (Props to Unidan for starting the bunny trail)
5YONr TIL Nashville, TN isn't referred to as the "Athens of the South" because of its full size replica of the Parthenon, but because it was the first American southern city to establish a public school system in the 1850s
4QA6 TIL that the coloration of the windows of one of MIT’s dorms, Simmons Hall, correlates with the amount of structural stress at each segment of the wall.
Lkkj9 TIL a number of hotels have begun 'rent a fish' programs whereby--for a modest fee--guests can borrow a goldfish to keep as a companion for the night.
Lkddp TIL mosques built within 100 years of Muhammad's life are oriented to face toward the Jordanian city Petra, not Mecca. There is a dearth of archaeological evidence underneath Mecca.