› added 1 year ago

51

TIL that Crucible steel (Wootz) was invented in South India around 200 BC, eventually being exported Middle East and even Viking Europe over thousands of years. Today, it's more commonly known as Damascus steel.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

kJ4lm TIL that Window AC Units don’t bring in outside air but instead recycle indoor air and dump heat out their backs
mxJVp TIL A hockey player name Ivan Tkachenko who died in a tragic plane crash in Russia was anonymously giving money to sick kids, and the last half-million ruble payment was transferred to a young cancer patient minutes before the plane take-off.
XKa8 TIL Serena and Venus Williams were 16 and 18 years old when they challenged any man outside the top 200 best tennis players in the world to beat them, Karsten Braasch the 203 player accepted the challenge and defeated them with 6-1 and 6-2, they later changed it to beating anyone outside of top 350.
oBOrE TIL in 2007, Hong Kong researchers warned the "presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb"
jN08v TIL Dr. Seuss used his full name, Theodore Geisel, until he was caught drinking alcohol in his college room when the consumption of alcohol was illegal in the U.S. He was forcefully resigned from working on the school magazine, but he still sneaked in his work under his middle name, Seuss.