› added 4 years ago

178

TIL The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. Dawkins also provided a handy tip on how to say it: "It should be pronounced to rhyme with 'cream'."

Read more bbc.com

via reddit.com

40yo TIL that 7th Century general Khalid bin al-Waleed swallowed poison to demonstrate how much of a hard-ass he was. Instantly shrugging it off because he’d built up resistance since childhood, his enemy immediately surrendered.
jN7Op TIL the sun is made up of plasma where hydrogen accounts for about 73.4% of the total mass or 92% of the total number of atoms. The other basic building block is helium, which accounts for 25% of the mass or 7.8% of the total number of atoms. Every second 6 million tons of hydrogen turns into helium
4kLyw TIL that ladybugs are named after the Virgin Mary. According to legend, Mary sent ladybugs to European farmers in the Middle Ages to protect their crops.
e0wab TIL that there is a worldwide farmer suicide crisis. A CDC study found that farmers take their lives at a rate higher than any other occupation.
b6Dr4 TIL Batman’s fascination for and attraction to bats is due to a unique psychological response to fear and anxiety called a“counterphobic attitude” which involves a person actively seeking out the sources of the things that frighten them in the hope of overcoming their fears and becoming stronger.