TIL that there is a village in Mauritania that few people know about due to its remoteness, where 50% of the babies are born blind and nobody seems to know why, other than an old legend.

https://youtu.be/ICA0VVkK-eE?si=-a1TquDUAbwbE7LY&utm_source=MTQxZ
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky75xs/til_that_there_is_a_village_in_mauritania_that/

TIL that the Basilica, a cannon used to besiege Constantinople, was so powerful that its recoil killed its own operators

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilic_(cannon)
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky6wk4/til_that_the_basilica_a_cannon_used_to_besiege/

TIL there's a species called the European edible dormouse. So named because the Romans used to eat them as a delicacy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_edible_dormouse
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky6d6k/til_theres_a_species_called_the_european_edible/

TIL that Beethoven’s hearing loss may have helped him compose. He used “bone conduction” by clenching a rod in his teeth and pressing it against his piano, to receive perception of the sound when vibrations transfer from the piano to his jaw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_conduction
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky5krr/til_that_beethovens_hearing_loss_may_have_helped/

TIL a study found that elite sumo wrestlers had significantly more fat-free mass than highly-trained bodybuilders. Data from 37 sumo wrestlers had an average FFM/stature ratio of 0.61 kg/cm, with highest being 0.66 kg/cm. The suggested upper limit in humans is 0.7 kg/cm.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28548340/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky5i6o/til_a_study_found_that_elite_sumo_wrestlers_had/

TIL from 1896 to 1923, the state of New York passed a law which banned alcohol from being served on Sundays except in hotels that served meals. Bar owners then started offering the cheapest rooms available, and met the meal requirement by offering sandwiches made of rubber.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raines_law
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky57p7/til_from_1896_to_1923_the_state_of_new_york/

TIL of "Miracle flights" - where people fake mobility issues, arrive at the boarding gate in wheelchairs, secure better treatment and better seats, but, once the flight is over, leave the plane unassisted and not needing wheelchairs - in effect, flights miraculously cure these people!

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/may/16/miracle-flights-southwest-airlines-c…
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky1j3a/til_of_miracle_flights_where_people_fake_mobility/

TIL that “Chemotherapy came to us because of an accident in World War II...it was what the Americans were hiding [illegally as mustard gas was outlawed] in one of the wrecked cargo ship that made the event historic: The U.S. SS John Harvey contained more than 120,000 pounds of mustard gas"

https://www.popsci.com/babe-ruth-cancer-treatment/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky1he5/til_that_chemotherapy_came_to_us_because_of_an/

TIL that Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the only city in the world with its own air traffic control just for helicopter aircraft in a urban setting, with 13 dedicated helicopter air traffic corridors

https://foundandexplained.com/2021/07/07/brazils-helicopter-city/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky0zq9/til_that_sao_paulo_brazil_is_the_only_city_in_the/

TIL about the 'Rag-Tag Circus' which was an American Division that during WW2 attacking towards Berlin used commandeered German armored vehicles and even some German airplanes to speed their advance

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/with-the-ragtag-circus-across-europe-the-story-of-frank-fauver/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky0i0q/til_about_the_ragtag_circus_which_was_an_american/

TIL that Mary Anning, a poor woman in 1800s England with no formal education, discovered the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton and helped start modern paleontology—but never received proper credit during her lifetime because of her gender and class.

https://www.amnh.org/research/paleontology/paleontology-related-pages/mary-anning-biography
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ky09g4/til_that_mary_anning_a_poor_woman_in_1800s/

TIL that Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were briefly united in the 1800s as the Federal Republic of Central America

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Central_America
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxy1pz/til_that_honduras_costa_rica_el_salvador/

TIL that Ingmar Bergman interviewed with himself many times.

https://www.ingmarbergman.se/en/production/when-will-you-quit-ingmar
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxw2eb/til_that_ingmar_bergman_interviewed_with_himself/

TIL That Astronauts cannot burp in space as the lack of gravity prevents foods and gasses separating in the stomach as they do on Earth.

https://howthingsfly.si.edu/ask-an-explainer/i-heard-astronauts-cannot-burp-space-it-true
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxj2kr/til_that_astronauts_cannot_burp_in_space_as_the/

TIL that Thomas Jefferson's tombstone was removed at the request of his family and replaced by a larger replica because visitors were chipping off pieces for souvenirs. The original tombstone is at the University of Missouri, in Columbia.

https://www.roamyourhome.com/thomas-jeffersons-original-gravestone/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxho2h/til_that_thomas_jeffersons_tombstone_was_removed/

TIL in the legend of King Arthur, as well as a sword called Excalibur, he also had a spear called "Ron"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhongomyniad
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxhhzv/til_in_the_legend_of_king_arthur_as_well_as_a/

TIL Notel devices are cheap Chinese media players with USB/SD slots, widely used in North Korea since the 2000s to watch banned foreign media like South Korean dramas and Western films.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notel
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxghu2/til_notel_devices_are_cheap_chinese_media_players/

TIL Several freight cars of the Disneyland Railroad originally had no seats because Walt Disney wanted guests to feel like cattle being transported on a real cattle train

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Railroad
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxg82n/til_several_freight_cars_of_the_disneyland/

TIL In the 1580s, a Franciscan Friar named Martin Ignacio de Loyola made the first eastward circumnavigation of Earth. He was also the first man to circumnavigate the globe in both directions and the first to use overland routes in circumnavigation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circumnavigations#:~:text=Mart%C3%ADn%20Ignacio%20de%20Loyola%20(Spanish)%3B%201585%…
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxfc5l/til_in_the_1580s_a_franciscan_friar_named_martin/

TIL that in journalism, single quotation marks in headlines don’t necessarily indicate a direct quote, and is often used to mislead public sentiment

https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/the-detail-is-in-the-punctuation/9980860
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1kxe8cd/til_that_in_journalism_single_quotation_marks_in/