› added 5 years ago

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TIL:About Albert Hale Sylvester a surveyor that worked for the USGS and US forest service, he gave names to over a 1000 natural features in Washington State, sometimes he was very whimsical/unusual in his naming practices giving such names as, Dirtyface peak,Dishpan gap,pass no pass, and many more.

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l7EpV TIL Viticulture, or winegrowing, involves growing and harvesting grapes, a horticulture branch. Native to Europe and the Caspian, the adaptable grape vine thrives globally on every continent except Antarctica.
gOM9 TIL that Sati, a practice where a widowed woman would immolate herself on her deceased husband’s funeral pyre, still exist in rural parts of India.
LDwP TIL the Soviets had made a prototype laser pistol for use by their astronauts. The pistol was deigned to burn a hole through the spacesuits of enemy astronauts, killing them via suffocation and/or explosive decompression.
b6yWZ TIL: That during the mad cow crisis in the 90s, reactions to the West were overwhelmingly negative in India, where cows hold a special place in the hearts of Hindus. Hindu associations declared that the West had been punished with the appearance of sick humans for its zoophagy, or meat-eating.
9wv7r TIL there's a real robotics company called Cyberdine and one of its robotic exeoskeleton suit is named HAL.