Post * gMbx4 — Curious Curator

› added 5 years ago

96

TIL that in 1790, Thomas Jefferson proposed a decimal-based system for weight, length, and volume that predates the metric system. If it had been adopted, 1 mile would equal 10,000 ft, an inch would be divisible by 10, and 1 cubic foot would equal exactly 1,000 ounces.

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DQ9xV TIL: The word lens comes from lēns, the Latin name of the lentil (seed of a lentil plant) because a double-convex lens is lentil-shaped. The lentil also gives its name to a geometric figure.

OoKwX TIL The day Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom, a dance was previously scheduled for 7p. The dance was allowed to happen as scheduled with the bullets still in the wall, completely compromising the crime scene.

m1mLp TIL of Unjust Demands Made by France on Haiti After Winning Independence: Forced to pay 150 million francs, the "Independence Debt" hindered Haiti's economy & development, stifling growth and contributing to ongoing challenges the nation faces today.

ONKX TIL the appendix may not just be vestigial in humans; a 2007 study suggested that appendices serve as safe havens for “good bacteria” when illness flushes other bacteria from the intestines. Afterward, the useful bacteria can quickly repopulate the intestines.

9YK8B TIL that Walt Disney took out multiple loans to finance Snow White, evening mortgaging his own house to pay for it. At the time, insiders in the film industry thought the film would bomb and called it “Disney’s Folly”. Even Walt’s wife, Lillian, thought it would bomb.