› added 7 years ago

172

TIL that a prisoner named James Carter was leading the men in a song called “Po’ Lazarus”. Someone recorded and preserved them singing for 40 years. In 2000 it was used in a movie soundtrack, which won a Grammy. Carter was tracked down and given thousands in royalties. He didn’t remember the lyrics.

Read more wikipedia.org

via ift.tt

MYW0 TIL the first documented cases of cancer were found on papyrus manuscripts in Egypt dating back to 3000 BC. In these manuscripts, 8 cases of breast tumors are mentioned that were removed by cauterization with a tool called the fire drill. The writing says about the disease, “There is no treatment.”
1awW4 TIL that in 1982, a man died while vandalizing a saguaro cactus for fun. He shot the cactus repetitively and then went up to poke it to try to get it to fall over. Instead, the 500-pound saguaro arm fell and killed him.
e0XJ6 TIL the date on which Easter falls is based on the moon. It's always on the Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox. If the first full moon happens to be on a Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday.
N7MQ1 TIL: Time to crack 7 characters password is 0.29miliseconds, 8 characters is 5 hours, 9 characters is 5 days,... and 12 characters is 2 centuries
kOVbm TIL the Native American greeting of "How" in many Westerns was a real greeting used by speakers of Lakota-Sioux. The word was used only between men.