Post * jwkR — Curious Curator

› added 10 years ago

543

TIL that an extinct bird called Rodrigues Solitaire had strange knob-like balls on its wings. These balls were used by the bird as a deadly weapon to defend territory and its mate, and made a noise like thunder in the distance

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O1NY TIL sheep farming accounts for 80% of all agriculture in Wales.

rNJoW Today I learned that Emperor Ai of the Han dynasty had a male lover named Dong Xian. Their relationship was notable, with the emperor bestowing honours upon Dong Xian due to his affection. This bond is often cited as a significant example of same-sex love in ancient Chinese history.

9wJbm TIL that blood donation was segregated in USA, and initially excluded African-American donors. It was not until 1950 that the Red Cross stopped requiring the segregation of so-called N. blood. And it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that Southern states overturned similar requirements

69o7W TIL: Thomas Midgley, the inventor, played an important role in introducing two environmentally disastrous products - leaded gasoline & chloro flouro carbons. At 51 he contracted polio and 4 yrs later he was strangled to death by the device he devised to allow him to get out of bed unassisted

l7Rr1 TIL about the Earth Inductor Compass. Patented in 1912, obsolete by the mid-1930s, it is a type of compass that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction with the Earth's magnetic field. One was used by Charles Lindbergh in his solo flight NYC to Paris in 1927.