› added 4 years ago

208

TIL the last two fluent speakers of the ancient dying language Ayapaneco aren’t talking to each other. Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, only live 500 metres apart in a small village in Tabasco but refuse to speak as they can’t stand each other’s company.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

enpn TIL Ervil Morrell Labaron (Aka the Mormon Manson), in the 1970’s and 80’s, justified the killing of 25 men, women, and children using the Mormon principle of blood atonement.
E79P TIL During the 1960 campaign, John F. Kennedy’s opponents said he had Addison’s disease. His doctors released a cleverly worded statement saying that he did not have Addison’s disease caused by tuberculosis, and the matter was dropped. He had Addison’s disease caused by a rare autoimmune disease.
J7Jv TIL the Canadian Flag has become a symbol of quality in Somalia after Canada sent a shipment of genuine Toyota small trucks there. Apparently someone had been producing low-quality knock-off trucks. People have even started getting the flag as a tattoo there.
JYLr8 TIL the way Helsinki survived WW2. In 1944 the USSR began a massive air attack on the city to force Finland to leave the war. Finns used fires and searchlights to trick Soviet bombers into dropping bombs outside the city. Russian diplomats were surprised to find an intact Helsinki after the war.
e01Z5 TIL Rats were not to blame for the spread of plague during the Black Death, according to a study by a team from the universities of Oslo and Ferrara. After comparing infection data to models, they concluded that the spread of the Black Death can be "largely ascribed to human fleas and body lice".