› added 3 years ago

93

TIL Don Quixote, considered one of the first modern novels, is also one of the first stories that uses meta-fiction, as the author plays pretend that his story comes from historical sources and had to search for lost documents and translations to complete it.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

j6GGa TIL of the 'McTaggart Paradox': a logical argument that our perception of time is an illusion- because it fundamentally contradicts itself- but also necessary to view events as moving together from past to future.
oRmV8 TIL about Prince Mikasa who was Japanese Emperor Hirohito's brother and repeatedly criticized the regime's war crimes during and after World War II including proposing that the Emperor resign in 1945 to take responsibility for the war
1Dp7 TIL that Bob Duffey, possibly the world’s best, safest, and most unknown motorcycle stuntman, boasts a career of over 1200 jumps with only 3 crashes having “a record of perfection unequaled by anyone.” At age 66, he still performs motorcycle stunts to this day.
Z8w9B TIL Costa Rica's national anthem was composed in prison. Manuel Gutierrez, an orchestra director, was contacted by the Costa Rican president to compose a national anthem. When Gutierrez replied that he had no composition skills, the president threw him in prison, setting bail at “1 National Anthem".
OoDme TIL the farthest a person has ever fallen and survived is at least 33,330 feet. Serbian flight attendant Vesna Vulovic was blown out of a plane when a bomb went off in its baggage compartment in 1972. She had no memory of the event and wasn't afraid to fly afterward.