› added 13 years ago

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TIL in 1848 an iron rod exploded through the skull of a railroad foreman and landed 80 feet away. He was speaking and walking minutes later. The doctor didn’t believe him until a “teacupful of the brain” fell on the floor. He died 12 years later, after having portraits made of him holding the rod

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xVan5 TIL, Owl is known for the silent flight. Where other birds have stiff feathers that make a whooshing sound when they fly, owl feathers have soft edges that allow the birds to fly silently.This is important for owls, as they can swoop down on prey without being heard.
e08r6 TIL that both South Korea and the Maldives once used the tune of Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" for their anthems. South Korea inherited it from Scottish missionaries. The poet behind the Maldives' anthem, for his part, chose the music after hearing it chiming out of an uncle's novelty clock
MexDK TIL in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the punishment for theft was amputation of the right hand and a branding on the forehead. Doctors who performed cosmetic procedures to hide the brand would have their right hand amputated and have their forehead branded.
EgMQd TIL that Dame Judi Dench has photographic memory and can recite entire Shakespeare plays from memory.
B4DD TIL the burial site of Genghis Khan has still not been found. The funeral escort allegedly killed anyone and anything that could haves witnessed the location of the emperor’s final resting place. The slaves that built the tomb were also slaughtered, as were the soldiers that murdered them..