› added 2 years ago

137

TIL that when floating ice melts, the water level actually stays the same. Apparently the difference in density between water and ice is exactly 1:1 to the percentage of the ice that floats above the water(aka is not displacing water)

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VM4bk TIL the first gladiatorial game of Ancient Rome was held in the city's cattle market in 264 BCE, where funeral celebrations for a former consul included combat between six war captives. Initially competitions of courage to honor the dead, gladiator matches were not publicly sponsored for 160 years.
5Y8QR TIL The current Afghanistan head of state Ashraf Ghani is the first peaceful transfer of power since the Afghan state was founded
nYGP TIL that people can come down with an illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when exposed to art or natural beauty - It’s called Stendhal syndrome.
OpoY TIL Johnny Depp once showed up at a school in full Jack Sparrow costume in response to a 9-year-old girl’s request for his help in staging a mutiny against the teachers.
p8RGN TIL that in an attempt to make his spy novels feel more authentic, author John Le Carré is credited with coining a number of terms for his fictional intelligence agency (terms like mole, honey trap, pavement artist, asset babysitter) which have become common terms used in real intelligence agencies.