› added 5 months ago

15

TIL that Caesar was just a normal family name that originally meant ‘having thick hair’. Due to the exploits of Julius Caesar it became a generic title for Roman emperors and then influenced other languages like German (Kaiser), Russian (Tsar), and Arabic (Qayṣar)

Read more ancestry.co.uk

via reddit.com

e8KD TIL that voting is compulsory in Australia and that citizens are fined if you do not vote !
kOYRm TIL that the word "idiot" has its origins in ancient Greece; "idiotes" meant a "private citizen" who did not take part in public/political life and concerned himself only with private affairs. These people were seen as self-centered and dishonorable.
w84Y TIL that after President Kennedy’s death in 1963, the television networks aired 4 days of commercial-free coverage of his funeral, burial, and other proceedings, costing them about $100 million in lost advertising revenue. 93% of all American homes watched some coverage
b9NbE TIL There is a lake in Russia nicknamed the “Siberian Maldives” where Russians pose for photos due to its bright turquoise colour. The lake is not that colour naturally it is turquoise due to toxic waste runoff from a local power plant and is very hazardous
lonJ7 TIL that during WWII Audie Murphy earned every US Army combat award for valor, and several French and Belgian awards for heroism. He earned the Medal of Honor at 19 for holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour, then leading a successful counter attack while out of ammo and wounded.