› added 10 months ago

52

TIL polar explorers would treat snow blindness by dripping cocaine into their eyes.

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0d1Mj TIL ostriches, the fastest and largest extant bipedal terrestrial animal, can run for 30 minutes at 50 km/h (31.1 mph) and can also move at a speed of 70 km/h (43.5 mph) for short sprints. Interestingly, unlike other birds, ostriches have only two toes on each foot.
e0W9k TIL that in 1906 Eleanor Roosevelt bought a chicken-wire cage for hanging from the window of her New York City townhouse for first child, Anna, to nap in—a practice known as "airing" for city dwelling children.
jL4N TIL that in 539BC, Persian King Cyrus the Great issued the first ever decree on human rights. He freed slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality.
M17 TIL in Aliso Viejo, California, the city officials came close to ban polystyrene cups in 2004 after hearing that “dihydrogen monoxide”(H20,plain water) was used in their production.
9Q0Q TIL that Philips and Sony designed their first audio CDs to hold up to 74 minutes to ensure they could hold a complete recording of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.