› added 1 year ago

42

TIL Barings bank, the bank that later collapsed due to Nick Lesson, helped to finance the Louisiana Purchase

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

awLWZ TIL a treatment in the Middle Ages for venomous snakebite was to pluck the feathers from a rooster's arse and place it on the site of the bite. Apparently its anus could suck up the venom. It was considered a good sign if the rooster died.
GKMj TIL: Utah has been giving free homes to homeless people since 2005 which since then made it more cost efficient to help the homeless and cut the chronic homelessness in Utah by 74%.
j6EaQ TIL Attalus III of Pergamon had little interest in ruling his kingdom and instead he was devoted to his hobbies, like gardening and botany. In his will he left his entire kingdom to the romans, thinking they'd conquer it anyway, he wanted to avoid all the bloodshed
Qb1a TIL that as of 1998, over 50% of Iceland’s population believed in the existence of elves
VB1xp TIL that one of the reasons we enjoy music is because the human brain has evolved to identify and enjoy patterns (such as chord progressions or a melody) which, in turn, releases dopamine