› added 5 years ago

148

TIL that Helium (He) is the only element on the periodic table that was not discovered on Earth. It was found when analyzing the sun’s spectrum, hence its name which comes from the Greek god of the sun Helios.

Read more education.jlab.org

via reddit.com

NmQ1 TIL that William Shakespeare, wrote his own epitaph as a curse to ward off grave robbers. It reads, “Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.”
8aJaK TIL Getty Images, a company infamous for sending threatening letters requesting payment when their photos are used without permission, was sued for more than $1 billion in damages when they mistakenly demanded a “settlement payment” from a photographer for her own work.
L779 TIL of Manichaeism. It spanned from the Roman Empire to China. Founded by Mani, who claimed to be a successor of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus. St. Augustine was a Manichee before he apostatised. Today none of its texts has survived and it is now extinct due to a worldwide holocaust of its adherents.
NXgEJ TIL: In the 1950s, the UK Ministry of Defence tested chemical weapons on volunteers under the guise of "curing the common cold"
VwD4 TIL, when FDR was president he once decided to test whether people he greeted actually listened to him. As he received each person he said “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” Most people responded with"How kind of you" until one person said “I’m sure she had it coming to her”