› added 10 years ago

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TIL that in addition to having mild winters, Greece has a period of about two weeks around the end of January in which the climate is like summer’s. It’s been going on every year and for at least 3000 years!

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via reddit.com

RKxj TIL the Latin word “arena” means “sand” and we get it’s modern definition because Romans covered the colosseum floor with sand to absorb blood
5YBdn TIL about the "hijacking" of the oil tanker, Brillante Virtuoso in the Gulf of Aden in 2011. There pirate attack left the ship heavily damaged and it was scrapped. The owner attempted a $100 mil insurance claim, one of the primary inspectors was killed in a car bomb, others were harassed.
j646N TIL that dolphins are scientifically classified as “toothed whales.”
Q69X TIL on 26 August 2016 in Hardangervidda, Kingdom of Norway, a “herd of wild reindeer was struck by lightning.” More than 300 (three hundred) reindeer died “in what wildlife officials say was a highly unusual massacre by nature.”
QjXe TIL that the caffeine in the coffee plant, like capsaicin in chili peppers, is meant to be a toxic substance to deter herbivores.