› added 8 months ago

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Today I learned about The Dickins Medal for animals that show outstanding bravery and devotion. It has been awarded 75 times since 1943.

Read more pdsa.org.uk

via reddit.com

mxkZp TIL that Romans weaved asbestos fibers into a cloth-like material that was then sewn into tablecloths and napkins. These cloths were cleaned by throwing them into a blistering fire, from which they came out unharmed and whiter than when they went in.
W7474 TIL that there is a piece of City of Manila (main capital of Philippines) inside City of Makati
16kBP TIL that Peter I of Russia introduced a tax on beards in 1698, to encourage men to shave and look more like European standards at the time. There even was a police force in charge of verifying payment of this tax, which could even forcibly shave people in the street who didn't pay it.
nbVd TIL another term for an intrusive thought is “The Imp of the Perverse”, a metaphor (popularized / coined by Edgar Allan Poe) for the urge to do exactly the wrong thing in a given situation for the sole reason that it is possible for wrong to be done.
awRXo TIL that the Fairy Tales of Ludwig Bechstein were once more popular then the Brothers Grimm. In those tales women were self reliant instead of damsels in distress, and step-mothers were not treated as "wicked" since many German mothers died in childbirth and the role of stepmother was so important.