› added 8 years ago

541

TIL that in 1382, a French bookseller named Nicholas Flamel claimed to have transformed lead into gold after decoding an ancient book of alchemy. True or not, historical records show that Flamel did come into considerable wealth around this time, and donated his riches to charity.

Read more history.com

via reddit.com

oLkY TIL that until 1987, broadcasters in the U.S. were legally required by the FCC to present both sides of “controversial matters of public interest.”
0wVYA TIL about 'Gegenschein', a very faint glow in the night sky exactly opposite of the Sun, caused by the backscatter of sunlight by interplanetary dust.
1a4eO TIL: Disabled children are currently being routinely tortured at the Judge Rottenberg Centre in Massachetts, and it's completely legal.
DQe8p TIL Richard Patrick, lead singer of Filter, was an original touring guitarist for NIN and has an older brother Robert, aka T1000
1av08 TIL legend has it that when Julius Caesar was born, they had to cut open his mother’s womb to deliver him. That’s why the modern surgery is called a Caesarian section.