› added 11 years ago

253

TIL a plant was modified to grow potatoes and tomatoes and is called “ketchup-n-fries”

Read more territorialseed.com

via reddit.com

ebnk TIL that Gustav Mahler was superstitious and strongly believed in the Curse of the Ninth, where composers can only compose nine symphonies before they die. He tried to beat superstition by calling his 9th symphonic work a “song cycle,” then began work on his 10th symphony and died.
X0eaQ TIL that the giant gaming company, "Nintendo" was created in 1889 as the "Yamauchi Nintendo", a playing card manufacturer.
E1bpW TIL about Project Retro, an idea proposed by the US Air Force around the 1960's that called for a thousand rocket engines to be strapped to the equator of Earth which would allow the US to slow/stop the rotation of the planet in an effort to "dodge" Soviet ICBMs.
LkYkQ TIL tattoos in Japan (Irezumi) were banned from 1868-1948. Traditional Japanese tattoos were associated with the yakuza (Japanese Mafia) as they were used to mark the skin of outlaws. To this day they retain a stigma of criminality and many businesses still ban customers with tattoos.
8OMG TIL that on his way to Egypt, Napoleon conquered Malta where he spent 6 days. During these days he abolished the nobility, freed the slaves, granted freedom of speech, gave Jews religious freedom, abolished the inquisition and introduced scientific subjects to the University of Malta