/f/todayilearned
TIL a German scientist named Alfred Wegener was ridiculed in 1912 for advancing the idea that the continents were adrift. Ridiculed as having “wandering pole plague.” or “Germanic pseudo-science” and accused Wegener of toying with the evidence to spin himself into “a state of auto-intoxication."
britannica.comSubmitted by Hot----------Dog t3_xur1gi
TIL "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" is an example of an impossible task. The idiom dates at least to 1834, from the Workingman's Advocate: "It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by meat-juice t3_11gbneo
TIL Al Capone was only 33 when he was locked away for tax evasion and developed neurosyphilis, leading to his death at 48. Eliot Ness was 27 when he formed the Untouchables--he died in a state of financial ruin in his 50s, likely hastened by his heavy drinking in his later life
fbi.govSubmitted by capsaicinintheeyes t3_yfs4ef
TIL that Evelyn Nesbit, dubbed "the world's first supermodel" became known for her involvement in a feud between her husband Harry Thaw and architect Stanford White who drugged and assaulted her age of 16, this led to Thaw murdering White inside Madison Square Garden in 1906.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by TopAbies9056 t3_z1utg9
TIL In 1939 chess Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf started regular simultaneous blindfold exhibitions hoping that international news coverage would reconnect him with family in Poland. He succeeded in setting the record and getting international coverage but his family had already been killed by nazis.
theguardian.comSubmitted by SigmaGrooveJamSet t3_zhvbtd
Submitted by Dearfield t3_1059jux
TIL: Zhu Youcheng is the only emperor in Chinese history, to be married to one wife and remain faithful to her, having no concubines. He was a hardworking emperor, lowering taxes, reducing spending, and demonstrating tolerance for Muslims. His son, however, had a haram so large, some starved.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Flares117 t3_zyyxk1
TIL Michael DeBakey, developed over many years the technique of replacing the damaged aorta with a tube made of polyethylene terephthalate. He himself suffered aortic dissection at the age of 97 and survived for two years thanks to the technique he developed himself.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Bobba_fat t3_ycjsn2
TIL That the character who first said the phrase "fortune favours the bold" - Turnus, in the Aeneid, spends the rest of the story suffering military defeats before he's killed and heads to the underworld, miserable, at the end of the last book.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Equal_Caregiver_4909 t3_10prv76
TIL that when the French first arrived in North America they met the Ojibwe Indians who introduced them to other tribes but used nasty names. The Lakota/Dakota people were called "Nadowessiwag," which became Nadouessioux in French, then Sioux in English. It means "little snake."
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by marmorset t3_yfuoqz
TIL Mountain Gorillas almost never drink water. They get their hydration from from their plant diet and morning dew. Despite living in rainforests, they also tend to dislike rain and try to not get wet when crossing a stream. They have never been observed drinking water in the wild before 2013
theeastafrican.co.keSubmitted by Ainsley-Sorsby t3_zz8llx
TIL that in 1947, U.S. House Minority Leader Sam Rayburn was gifted a 1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 62 from 142 Democratic congressmembers and 50 Republican congressmembers. Each congressmen donated $25 to circumvent Rayburns personal rule of not accepting gifts more than $25.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by FranklinDRoosevelt32 t3_107j100
TIL Early drones were developed during the First World War. These radio controlled planes were primarily for target practice but by 1942 a drone with a built in TV camera was capable of delivering a torpedo to a ship 20 miles from the controller.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by jamescookenotthatone t3_125kl1d