› added 5 years ago

106

TIL that almost nothing is known of the social organization or religious beliefs of the people who erected tens of thousands of menhirs (large upright stones) across Europe, Asia and Africa. There is not even any trace of these people's language.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

R7r8Q TIL about Frieda Belinfante, a half-Jewish lesbian who lived in Amsterdam during WWII, and disguised herself as a man to avoid being captured and executed by the Nazis. Even though she was wanted for being part of the resistance movement she escaped out of Amsterdam and lived til she was 90.
abEL TIL that the FBI learned two of its informants were planning to murder a rival gangster. The FBI didn’t intervene, and the man was murdered. The FBI then stayed silent when four innocent men were convicted of the crime. By the time the truth was revealed, two of the four men had died in prison.
dDxG7 TIL about the stylitism, a trend among early Christian monks who practiced asceticism by living atop a pillar. One stylite stayed atop his pillar for 54 years without ever coming down
b97oa TIL the imperial family of Japan descends from an unbroken lineage of nearly 2,000 years. No other royal family in history has held its position for so long. The first Japanese emperor, Jimmu Tennō, ruled when Jesus was around.
9YweQ TIL the Swedish propaganda/war ship Vasa sank 100m into its maiden voyage and was recovered 333 years later. Today it is the oldest preserved ship and can be seen in a Stockholm museum.