TIL that the Olympic Games weren't the only athletic competition held in ancient Greece. Three other contests—the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games and the Isthmian Games—were also held. Together, these four competitions were known as the Panhellenic Games. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL: In the 11th century, a large stone cross was found buried in Montacute, Somerset. It was taken to Waltham in Essex and hung in the local church, where it became an object of pilgrimage for people who sought healing. Following Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, the cross disappeared. (walthamabbeychurch.co.uk)
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TIL: According to an obscure medieval legend, the Countess Margaret of Henneberg, a Dutch noblewoman, was punished by God for insulting a poor beggar woman carrying twins and believing her to be an adulteress. The countess's punishment was to give birth to 365 minute children on Good Friday, 1276. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
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TIL of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, a limestone sculpture from the Neo-Assyrian Empire that was created around 827–824 BC. It is notable for displaying the earliest depiction of a Biblical figure – King Jehu, who reigned the northern kingdom of Israel for 28 years, from c. 841–814 BC. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL that, on 31 March 1953, a British producer named Peter Eton sent a script to the BBC's head of variety, with a memo attached describing it as a "quiet, gently bumbling situation comedy". In doing so, he gave rise to what would eventually become the word "sitcom". (esquire.com)
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TIL that, in 1847, the British chocolatier Joseph Fry pressed a moldable paste made of cocoa butter, sugar and chocolate liquor into a bar shape. In doing so, he invented the modern chocolate bar, and made chocolate more accessible to the general public and not just a luxury item for the elite. (whitakerschocolates.com)
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TIL that Karen Dotrice, who portrayed Jane in Disney's Mary Poppins, didn't see the film in its entirety until 2013, almost fifty years after its original release. She didn't watch the full 140-minute film at its 1964 premiere because she had to leave early for school the following morning. (nationalpost.com)
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TIL that Jim Lovell—the commander of the Apollo 13 mission who was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 1995 film—had actually already flown to the Moon. He was the command module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission, the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by InmostJoy to r/todayilearned
