› added 4 years ago

194

TIL Jonas Salk, who played a key role in prevention of polio outbreaks, entered college as a pre-law student, hoping to be elected to Congress one day. He switched to medicine because his mother thought that he wouldn't become a successful lawyer.

Read more mentalfloss.com

via reddit.com

9YnNr TIL that Cyrillic (the alphabet used to write Russian) wasn't created by Greek monks Cyrill and Methodius. They created the Glagolitic script. A disciple of theirs created Cyrillic with a few Glagolitic letters.
X0wAj TIL that George Takei respectfully declined an offer to voice himself in the Simpsons episode Marge vs. the Monorail because he didn't want to ridicule public transportation
VMEA8 TIL that nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, was first used as a recreational party drug by Britain's wealthy class in the 1700s before it was ever utilized for medical reasons
vjvB TIL That Archimedes developed an anti-ship weapon called the Claw of Archimedes. It lifted a ship by the prow then dropped it, often causing the vessel to capsize or at least severely damaging it.
VMge8 TIL that Hippies get their name from Hipsters, who were sarcastic, pot smoking 1940s jazz fans.