› added 5 months ago

50

TIL about a guy that fell off of a cruise ship, unnoticed, near Cozumel, Mexico. He was in the water for hours. The man was subsequently picked up/rescued by another passing cruise ship, entirely by happenstance.

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via reddit.com

PYr4e TIL that "zombies" first appeared on movie screens in a 1919 French film called J’accuse. Director Abel Gance used soldiers on leave from fighting in Verdun to portray “an army of the dead.”
XEKOX TIL there was a Republic of Yucatán ... twice!
e0ok4 TIL Phosphogypsum is a common byproduct of fertilizer production. It has very few pratical uses and is radioactive, containing uranium, thorium, radium, radon and polonium. For this reason they are stored indefinitely in Stacks. ONE ton of phosphoric acid produces FIVE tons of phosphogypsum waste.
5V7kn TIL where the word "Gerrymander" comes from. The 1812 Massachusetts Congress redrew the state districts to give their party electoral advantage, which Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed into law. A local paper compared the shape of one district to a salamander, coining the term "Gerry-mander", which stuck.
LkdEv TIL "pioneer" was originally a 16th century military rank, meaning people who advanced first into enemy territory to cut down forests, clear trails, make roads and bridges, etc., so the actual troops could march through after. Pioneer has the same French root as pawn or peon, meaning foot soldier.