› added 13 years ago

145

TIL that Ireland’s first ever olympic medal (silver) was for painting

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via reddit.com

oBkEo TIL In 1670 a native american tribe decided to travel to Europe to sell pelts after being scammed by colonists. They spent months building a fleet of ships only to have rough sea destroy it as soon as they began the voyage, the natives were saved by the British who then sold them into slavery.
wLp46 TIL about Operation Popeye, when the US military successfully controlled the weather by seeding rain clouds, extending the monsoon season in Vietnam by a month.
QjLk TIL in the most famous account of her birth, Aphrodite was created when the titan Kronos castrated his father, Uranus. When the genitals fell into the sea, Aphrodite was born. This would also make her the oldest of the Gods and Goddesses.
dWlK TIL Anaxarchus, disciple of Pythagoras, bit off his own tongue and spat it in the face of Nicocreon, tyrant of Cyprus while under torture to reveal the secrets of his order. [Pliny]
VM8EG TIL Pomeranian dogs love to spin. When they get super excited they enter a spinning spree, not unlike a tornado. They don’t get dizzy and can spin an incredible amount of times in rapid succession.