Post * jlQX — Curious Curator

› added 8 years ago

131

TIL That the Soviet Diplomat Molotov was reportedly the only man to ever “shake hands” with Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Himmler, Göring, Roosevelt and Churchill. He also outlived them all and died in 1986 at the age of 96.

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7rExr TIL about Le Gentil. In 1760, went to India to see transit of Venus. He missed it, so he waited there for 8 years until the next one. When he returned, he learned that he had been declared dead: His estate had been divided up, his wife had remarried, and his position at the academy was given away.

xVY11 TIL that Welsh places compete to have the longest name: a railway station was once called Gorsafawddacha'idraigddanheddogleddol-lônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion just to outdo the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

4XdQ6 TIL that barely a year after the 1969 moon landing the American public had completely lost interest in space exploration - to such an extent that 90% of people surveyed could not remember Neil Armstrong's name.

LQoWr TIL the Sixth Crusade was mostly conducted through diplomacy and involved very little actual fighting. Jerusalem was ceded to the Crusaders through Treaty of Jaffa (1229). The reaction to the treaty in both the Christian and Muslim worlds was largely negative.

ePj5 TIL Bloodhounds are the only animal whose evidence is admissible in court. One of the greatest sleuths in canine history was a Kentucky bloodhound called Nick Carter. His dogged persistence led to the capture and conviction of more than 600 criminals throughout his illustrious career.