Post * p8bZN — Curious Curator

› added 3 years ago

600

TIL about Princess Alexandria of Bavaria, who believed she had swallowed a glass grand piano when she was a child that could shatter at any time — and she was not the only royal with this delusion.

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9wwNQ TIL about General Santa Anna’s wooden leg. The leg was captured by an Illinois regiment in 1847 and is now on display at the Illinois State Military Museum.

dDpA9 TIL that pellagra, caused by niacin deficiency, was widespread among poor rural populations in 18th–20th century Europe and the American South who relied heavily on corn. Native Americans had solved the issue millennia earlier through nixtamalization—an alkaline treatment that makes niacin available

e0xMn TIL the recently opened ancient Egyptian sarcophagus of Mer-Neith-it-es dates back to around 600 BC. The Pyramids of Giza date back to around 2600 BC, so the pyramids in the time of Mer-Neith-it-es would be as old as Jesus is to us. Ancient Egyptians may have considered the pyramids as ancient.

nWp5r TIL that "Your brain isn’t fully formed until you’re 25" is a myth that is not based in science, only misunderstandings. Our brains continue to mature with time, and our brains never stop changing. Individual differences mean some of are more mature than others, at an earlier age.

9AlQ TIL that in Australia, there is an orchid which grows entirely underground. It was discovered in 1928 by a farmer after he noticed a sweet smell coming from the ground. The discovery generated such excitement that a wax model was toured around the British Isles.