› added 4 years ago

425

TIL a surgeon named John Bradmore was released from prison to extract an arrowhead from young Henry V's skull. He invented an extractor to remove the bodkin (5 in. deep) and healed the wound with honey and wine.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

P1nVO TIL you can have a negative magnitude earthquake. Magnitude calcs are based on logarithmic scale so a ten-fold drop in amplitude decreases the magnitude by 1. If an amplitude of 20 mm as measured on seismic signal corresponds to a magnitude 2 earthquake then 1000 times less (0.02 mm) is mag -1.
ep5XJ TIL about a class of marine mollusks called scaphopods. They're commonly known as "tusk shells" due to their elongated and slightly curved shells. They live in offshore areas and bury themselves in sand or mud.
OQme TIL to be a London black cab driver, one is expected to know over 25,000 roads and 50,000 points of interest and pass a test called “The Knowledge”. To pass the exam, applicants usually need twelve appearances and 34 months of preparation.
OoD4Y TIL David “Carbine” Williams, who helped invent the M1 Carbine, was a convicted murderer and created innovative gun ideas while in jail. He was convicted of the shooting of a sheriff who busted his illegal moonshine still. He was released after his family argued his inventions could help America.
VB5GZ TIL that the first computer virus, known as "Creeper," was an experimental program created in 1971. It displayed the message "I’m the creeper: Catch me if you can" and inadvertently led to the development of the first antivirus software, called "Reaper."