› added 12 years ago

97

TIL that the word “orient” comes from the Latin word “oriens”, meaning East because in the Middle Ages many maps were drawn with East at the top. So to “orient” them you had to turn them so that East was facing up.

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epmYg TIL that the famous "We shall fight them on the beaches" speech by Churchill wasn't recorded or broadcasted during the war, but recorded in 1949 after the war ended. The first time the public heard the speech on audio was in 1964.
jYrM TIL We are born with around 300 bones and then it decreases to 206 bones by adulthood after some bones have fused together.
v1KRK TIL "50% of US marriages end in divorce" statistic is very misleading. In reality, divorce rates peaked in the early 1980s and have been steadily decreasing since then. If current trends continue, only one third of today's marriages will end in divorce.
w1x1 TIL - Meerkat sentries will climb just about anything to get a better view of their surroundings…including cameramen.
Q7p TIL that Heroin was created in 1897 as a patent cough remedy.