› added 4 years ago

76

TIL that Samuel Morse was inspired to create "Morse code" while returning from a failed tour as a painter

Read more seattleartmuseum.org

via reddit.com

BrRrb TIL the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab Kit was the world’s most dangerous toy,which included three sources of radiation and four uranium ores that are also radioactive. The kit, which first went on sale in 1950, came with an instruction booklet and pamphlet on how to prospect uranium.
M7Rjb TIL that the average time between recessions has grown from about 2 years in the late 1800s to 5 years in the early 20th century to 8 years over the last half-century.
WPK9 TIL in the 13th century, Genghis Khan proposed “friendship and peace” with the fellow nomadic Khwarezmian Empire in Persia. The Khwarezmia shah ordered a Mongol trade delegation killed, prompting Khan to invade the empire, kill 1.25 million, and destroy the Khwarezmian Empire.
oR4br TIL the number of weeks pregnant is calculated to the date of a woman's last period. Not when they actually conceived.
oBlBL TIL that Hong Kong is not the only ex-British colony in China. Weihai (formerly Weiheiwei/Port Edward) was also once an ex-British colony in China from 1898 - 1930