› added 7 years ago

117

TIL an American group from Harvard set out to observe the solar eclipse of Oct 27, 1780, with the Revolutionary War in full swing. Though the Brits granted them safe passage (sought in the name of science) into what was enemy territory, they still failed to witness totality due to miscalculations.

Read more wikipedia.org

via ift.tt

Zpw8v TIL about bugchasing, the act of intentionally seeking out HIV through sexual activity
kPM5 TIL that there is a current scientific hypothesis that the sun has a companion which is currently about 1-1.5 light years away. It is believed that it has an elliptical orbit which, every 26 million years, sends matter towards the Earth causing mass extinction events. Its nickname, the “Death Star.”
8a1kZ TIL about Pizarro’s invasion of Cusco in 1533 "The capital of the Incas astonished them. The delicacy of the stone work excelled that of the Spaniards. The great temple dedicated to the Sun was studded with gold plates. The troops lost no time in plundering them of their contents"
Rbp9 TIL Warm water freezes faster than cold, and that scientists still don’t know why.
R50pa TIL George Lucas’s dog, an Alaskan malamute named Indiana, was often taken by the Lucases on car drives and called their ‘furry copilot’. He was an inspiration for Chewbacca and the source of Indiana Jones’ name.