› added 4 years ago

326

TIL the 2002 SARS virus also originated from cave dwelling bats, discovered through tracing by scientists at Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

Zm5o TIL Saint Nicholas, commonly associated with Santa Claus, is the Patron Saint of prostitutes
epBJb TIL The USS Indianapolis delivered the enriched uranium and parts for the "Little Boy" atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but no one onboard knew the contents of this cargo. The uranium was secretly monitored by a radiologist throughout the trip to make sure the sailors would not be poisoned.
bZO7 TIL a 1970s Canadian science experiment made drugs freely available to both caged rats and colony rats: The rats in cages developed drug habits. The rats in normal ‘society’ refused them.
69dwm TIL: the term "boycott" was named after Charles Boycott, an Irish land agent who attempted to evict eleven tenants in 1880. He was ostracized by the community and his workers stopped working stores stopped trading with him, and his postman refused to deliver his mail.
66g8 TIL the Samurai wore a cloak that inflated when the wearer was riding a horse, which protected him from incoming arrows from behind.