› added 6 years ago

250

TIL that while modern child-proof lids were invented in 1967, archaeologists discovered a container nearly 20 years later that was opened using a similar twist-off method. The vessel was found in the Mayan ruins of Río Azul in Guatemala and dated back to 500 BCE. It contained chocolate.

Read more mentalfloss.com

via reddit.com

D1mMr TIL Ethiopia sent troops to the Korean War as part of the UN Command. Known as the Kagnew Battalions, 3,158 men served, of which 121 were killed and 538 wounded. They were never defeated in battle and not a single soldier surrendered. They were also respected for never leaving their dead behind.
R5NoQ TIL about Capitol Hill's mystery soda machine. Operating from around the early 1990s to 2018, this machine would dispense rare discontinued beverages. Supposedly the nearby businesses had no idea who was restocking the machine. After the machine disappeared a note was left saying "Went for a walk".
4X0YJ TIL about the dangerous Onbashira Festival, which involves participants to ride on sixteen enormous 50-foot/15-meter, 10-ton/9,000-kg logs down steep mountains among other difficult terrains in a ceremony known as Kiotoshi, that takes place in Nagano, Japan. Injury and fatal incidents are frequent.
Na06 TIL a Swiss freediver held his breath for 19 minutes. Which is 1 minute shy of a blue whale.
R7kMl TIL that the word "essential" in "essential oil" doesn't mean "important," but rather "the essence of". So oil of clove smells like clove, capturing the "essence" of the plant, and therefore can be called an essential oil.