› added 7 years ago

175

TIL doves were traditionally released during the opening ceremony of the Olympics games, until Seoul 1988. Several of the birds, instead of flying away, settled on the cauldron housing the Olympic flame and were subsequently incinerated in front of the crowd when it was lit.

Read more news.bbc.co.uk

via reddit.com

m1GZM TIL that ancient Egyptians had a pregnancy test using wheat and barley. Women would urinate on bags of wheat and barley, and if the grains sprouted, it was considered a positive pregn aresult. Studies in the 20th century showed this method was surprisingly accurate due to hormonal changes.
BrVWb TIL about Anatoli Brouchkov - a Russian scientist who injected himself with a 3.5 million year old strain of bacteria just to see what would happen.
R7NMa TIL that Michelin goes to huge lengths to keep the Inspectors (who give out stars to restaurants) anonymous. Many of the top people have never met an inspector; inspectors themselves are advised not to tell what they do. They have even refused to allow its inspectors to speak to journalists.
R76G4 Today I learned that Jesus’ real name translates from Hebrew to English as Joshua, but repeated translations left us with “Jesus.”
yQbQM TIL on October 2, 1978, Tim Allen was arrested in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport for possession of over 650 grams (1.43 lb) of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking charges and provided the names of other dealers in exchange for a sentence of three to seven years.