› added 9 years ago

397

TIL the first empire in history, the neo-Assyrian empire, was expanded by people who had the worldview that as long as they continued winning battles, the world would not end. After 300 years, they lost a battle, and their empire collapsed

Read more youtube.com

via reddit.com

BrVKe TIL that in Star Trek, Captain Kirk's phrase "You have the conn" has its origins in early battleships dating as far back as the 1860s; these ships were built with conning towers. A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine from which an officer in charge can issue commands.
Y767d TIL that, when writing Dracula, Bram Stoker was greatly influenced by his father’s interest in theatre and his mother’s gruesome stories about her childhood during the cholera epidemic in 1832.
mxRRR TIL two things about Good Will Hunting: Mel Gibson almost directed it, and the ending was suggested by Terrence Malick (facts #6 and #13 in the link)
loeWA TIL a distillery on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent produces a rum that is 84.5 % alcohol by volume (169-proof). It's so strong that travelers are banned from taking a bottle back home with them.
GZLJ TIL Two ultramarathoners — Kevin Carr of the U.K. and Dotknac Swiata from Poland — on separate treks around the globe crossed paths by accident in a Dutch village.