› added 8 years ago

104

TIL “when Socrates was asked to propose his own punishment, he suggested a wage paid by the government and free dinners for the rest of his life.”

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R5nll TIL: Pirates probably didn't wear eyepatches because of a missing eye; it's much more likely that they were keeping one eye ready to see in darkness, so that they could adjust quickly when going below deck.
Re19 TIL Rats can tread water for 3 days straight and hold their breath underwater for 3 minutes.
gaQy TIL that the same Muslim family (the Nuseibeh or Nusaybah clan) have been the door openers at the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for over 1300 years. They have acted as both custodians of the church and as mediators between the various Christian sects represented there.
VMJWQ TIL bubble gum is traditionally pink because its inventor wanted to mask the gray color of the original formula with the dye he had on hand: red.
OG087 TIL of Nakahama Manjirō, a 14-year-old fisherman who was shipwrecked on an island with four friends. They were rescued by an American whaleship, who took them to Honolulu, where his friends stayed. Manjirō continued on to Massachusetts and become the first Japanese person to land on mainland USA.