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TIL about a species of mushrooms in Japan called Shiinotomoshibitake that grows on the trunks of decaying trees on Mt. Yokogura. The mushrooms are unique because they glow green during the period between late May and early July. Scientists are yet to determine why this is.

by whatilearned January 21, 2022, 5:14 pm

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TIL that despite underground room-and-pillar mining taking place as early as the 13th Century, the use of canaries for early warning of toxic gases began only in 1900, with mice first being used for the role in 1896.

by whatilearned January 20, 2022, 11:49 pm

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I left a comment on the “Safe and Sound” music video pretty much saying I liked early 2010’s pop. This was the first response. Copy of text by “-Antiheld-“

by CopyPastaArchive January 20, 2022, 1:58 am

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TIL Martin Luther King Jr., in his last speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” anticipated his early demise but was contented to be in the same position as the Biblical Moses, who could look on the promised land but would die before ever reaching it. King was assassinated the next day.

by whatilearned January 17, 2022, 3:44 pm

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TIL there was a trend of headless photography in 19th century Britain (“Victorian Headless Portraits”). The models usually had their heads in a platter, or were holding them in their hands. This was made by taking multiple photos and combining the negatives – kinda like the early days’ Photoshop.

by whatilearned January 17, 2022, 12:25 pm

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TIL Florentine society during Renaissance tacitly accepted male homosexuality but had a rigid rule: passive/receptive partner must be under 20 years of age while active partner had to be older (20s or early 30s). Reversing those roles was considered shocking and a deviation from the “natural order.”

by whatilearned January 16, 2022, 5:47 pm

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TIL early rules for American football the field goal was worth more (5) than a touchdown (4) until 1898 touchdowns were increased to 5 points the two being worth the same until 1904 when field goals were reduced to 4. The modern point values weren’t reached until 1912

by whatilearned January 14, 2022, 11:29 pm

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TIL A popular treatment for Asthma in the early 20th century was a special brand of cigarettes. Asthmador cigarettes contained no tobacco, but instead contained Datura Stramonium, a hallucinogenic plant.

by whatilearned January 14, 2022, 6:25 pm

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TIL of the astronomer Percival Lowell, who achieved great fame as a science popularizer in the early 1900s despite all his major theories being wrong. His greatest scientific contribution was initiating a search for a ninth planet based on faulty data that ended up finding Pluto by coincidence.

by whatilearned January 14, 2022, 3:05 pm

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TIL the song the British soldier sang at the end of the film 1917, is an American folk song that originated in the early 19th century

by whatilearned January 14, 2022, 1:15 pm

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TIL A Japanese rail company once apologised when a train left its station 25 seconds early. The operator said, “the great inconvenience we placed upon our customers was truly inexcusable”.

by whatilearned January 14, 2022, 1:29 am

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TIL for millennia, people slept in two shifts – once in the evening, and once in the morning. Biphasic sleeping is mentioned as early as the 8th Century BC, and appears to have remained the dominant, natural format up until the Industrial Revolution.

by whatilearned January 10, 2022, 6:13 pm

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