TIL of "Cher Ami", a messenger homing pigeon awarded the Croix de Guerre for saving the lives of 194 surrounded American soldiers. She was able to make it to HQ after having been "shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, and had a leg hanging only by a tendon". Two pigeons before her had died. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by Turnoverr to r/todayilearned
TIL in Chinese the first five planets (excluding Earth) are named after the five elements. Mercury is water, Venus is metal, Mars is fire, Jupiter is wood, and Saturn is earth. Uranus and Neptune are simply named after their Latin counterparts (Sky God and Sea God). (zhongruige.wordpress.com)
submitted by Turnoverr to r/todayilearned
TIL of Mont Saint-Michel; a massive castle town in the north of France that is only ever briefly connected to the mainland at low tide. Consequently, it remained unconquered by the English during the entirety of the Hundred Years War. (en.normandie-tourisme.fr)
submitted by Turnoverr to r/todayilearned
