› added 10 years ago

293

TIL that in 2009, for the first time in world history, the number of people living in urban areas surpassed the number of people living in rural areas.

Read more un.org

via reddit.com

wLvjW TIL of Gaius Marius, who eliminated the requirement for Roman soldiers to be landowners. Thereafter, Rome's legions largely consisted of poor citizens who became extremely loyal to their commanders. Ultimately, this was highly significant for Caesar and Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire.
LQM6d Today I learned the Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece. The four Games were the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean and the Isthmian games.
yJwp TIL that after hitting his head in the shallow end of a swimming pool, a man awoke with the condition known as acquired musical savant syndrome. He had become a great pianist without ever learning to play.
wooZP TIL about the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, an intertwined series of conflicts that took place between 1639 and 1653 in the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland – separate kingdoms which had the same king, Charles I.
VlXB TIL American fighter pilot William Bruce “Bill” Overstreet Jr. (April 10, 1921 – December 29, 2013) shot down a German Messerschmitt Bf-109G after chasing it through the arches of the Eiffel Tower.