› added 2 years ago

74

TIL of Inalchuq, a governor of the Khwarezmian Empire who appropriated and slaughtered a Mongolian Caravan in 1218, and sold its goods. Protected and supported by his Sultan, his actions would lead to the subjugation and near-genocide of his entire empire and people.

ANXww TIL the city of Jakarta has a "No-car day" every Sunday, inviting pedestrians to use the streets for recreational activity instead
JYgV8 TIL the founder of Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis, hated how commercialized the holiday had become. "A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world."
OWe4 TIL that comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter in 1994, after being broken apart from Jupiter’s tidal gravity. One fragment struck the planet’s surface with the estimated energy of 6 million megatons of TNT (600 times the world’s nuclear arsenal) and created a dark spot over 12,000 km across.
W4bY TIL that we actually have photographs showing entire star systems being warped in space-time by immense gravitational force. These Gravitational Lenses appear to us a circular bubble of stars and galaxies, and prove Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
GYEj4 TIL: Comcast changed their brand from "Comcast Internet" to "Xfinity" because the comcast name had become associated with poor quality and service. The name change decision was made after a Comcast technician was recorded while sleeping on a customer's couch.