› added 10 years ago

86

TIL The US Navy still operates wooden ships.

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via reddit.com

1aGBD TIL: the reason some people feel the need to pace while on the phone is because when you talk on the phone, your brain is lacking the visual feedback it usually receives from face-to-face conversation, and begins to translate emotional responses into physical movements.
YYZW TIL A German pilot accidentally landed in Wales instead of France during WW2, was taken prisoner, then almost got shot by his guard in transport when the car hit a pothole
epjyk TIL that in the late 1600s Emperor K'ang Hsi, who had survived smallpox as a child, had his children inoculated. That method involved grinding up smallpox scabs and blowing the matter into nostril. Inoculation may also have been practiced by scratching matter from a smallpox sore into the skin.
5P1B TIL 50% of Nigeriens are under 14 years old
9Yy1M TIL the city of Portland, Oregon got its name because of a coin flip between two of its settlers in 1843, each of whom wanted to name it after their respective hometowns. The other potential name for the city was Boston.