526
@qikipedia
Capt. Sir Mansfield Cumming suggested British secret agents use semen as invisible ink during WWI.
527
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In Irish Gaelic, the word for ‘hare’ is ‘giorria’, which is derived from a phrase that literally means ‘a short deer’.
528
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On the 14th of February 1784, there was a wedding in Derby where the couple had between them seven thumbs: the bride had three thumbs, and the groom four.
529
@qikipedia
Word of the Day: POOP-NODDY (archaic) — sex.
530
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Cambridge University researchers have discovered that conical ceramic pots, previously classified as storage jars from Ancient Roman sites, were actually portable toilets.
531
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Due to early bacteria, it's possible that 650 million years ago the oceans were pink.
532
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When a male grey wolf takes over a pack, he adopts his rival’s puppies
533
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Word of the day: TEMPORICIDE - the act of killing time
534
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About one quarter of the world's hazelnut production is used just to make Nutella.
(Image: Janine; CC BY.)
535
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As king of Prussia, Frederick the Great encouraged his subject to eat more potatoes.
People now leave potatoes on his grave as a tribute.
(Image: Karen Mardahl; CC BY-SA.)
536
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You have the most friends you will ever have at age 25.
537
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The microwave was invented by accident.
An engineer at Raytheon was testing a magnetron when he noticed his snack had melted in his pocket.
He repeated the procedure, and exploded an egg. He then decided to try building an oven.
(Image: Daniel Christensen; CC BY.)
538
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According to a 2019 survey, the words Americans are most likely to know that Britons are not are "manicotti", "ziti", and "tilapia".
The words Brits are most likely to know (but Americans are not) are "tippex", "biro", and "tombola".
539
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Word of the day: ROCAMBOLESQUE - too bizarre to be believable
540
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Doctors in Canada can prescribe a visit to a national park.
(Image: Pjalily6666661; CC BY-SA.)
541
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As well as affianced couples, St Valentine is the patron saint of epilepsy, fainting, plague, beekeepers and greetings card manufacturers.
542
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According to the Venerable Bede, February was once called ‘the Month of Cakes’.
543
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According to a newspaper report from the 1950s, extras in London theatres would not only say ‘rhubarb, rhubarb’ to imitate dialogue, they would also say ‘sausage and mash’ (for softer sounds) and ‘Raspberries! Raspberries!’ through their teeth to make angry crowd noises.
544
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Word of the Day: APOSTROFEAR (neologism) — fear of not using an apostrophe when one is needed or using one when it is not needed.
545
@qikipedia
For 3 months in 1530, Michelangelo was in hiding from the pope in a room under the Medici Chapel of the Basilica di San Lorenzo. He covered the walls in graffiti which were not discovered until 1976.
546
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People have been making cheesecake in Greece for at least 4000 years.
547
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Wild honeybees practice social distancing to avoid spreading parasitic mites.
548
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"Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on." TERRY PRATCHETT
549
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Word of the day: KAFFEEKLATSCH - literally "coffee chatter", an informal gathering where friends come and chat over cups of coffee
550
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Brazil could not afford to send a team to the 1932 Olympics, so they sent the athletes on a ship full of coffee.
The athletes sold the coffee along the way to fund their journey.
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A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves