› added 1 year ago

31

TIL of the HMS Black Joke, a former slave ship captured and given to the British West Africa squadron. Over a 5 year career she captured dozens of slave ships and freed thousands of African slaves bound for the Western Hemisphere.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

1aJ5V TIL in the final stages of hypothermia, humans exhibit two strange behaviors; paradoxical undressing, in which a person will remove all their clothes despite being dangerously close to death, and a completely autonomous, instinctual burrowing behavior.
b80Z TIL that the ability to taste cucumbers is genetic. Those who with the gene tend not to like the bitter taste whereas those without the gene experience a nearly tasteless fruit.
D1yyp TIL that over 4000 years ago the first ever customer complaint was recorded in Sumerian, regarding poor quality ore.
l7P8B TIL the dark origins of Valentine's Day involved drunken Roman men sacrificing dog and goats, and whipping women with the animals’ hides. Happy Valentines Day💘
jy6Q TIL it is legal to drive a car while consuming alcohol from an open container in the UK. As long as the car is driven with due care and the driver is under the legal limit.