The "Wheat and Barley" pregnancy test described in a recently translated medical text has been practiced for thousands of years

Team based in China develop test that identifies cancers up to four years before signs appear

Christopher Reeve was an American actor, film director, screenwriter and activist best known for portraying Superman in the original 1978 movie (and its three sequels). Reeve became an instant film icon thanks to his classic good looks and superb on-screen…

We know that animals have found ways to get themselves drunk or high by eating certain plants or fermented fruit, but recently, scientists have started studying the self-medication of animals — a branch of science dubbed zoopharmacognosy. This is how we discovered…

Late in the war President Roosevelt opened a new front—and met surprisingly little resistance...

unit of time

French musician

An air door or air curtain is a device used to prevent air or contaminants from moving from one open space to another. The most common use is a downward-facing blower fan mounted over an entrance to a building, or an opening between two spaces conditioned…

The earliest known recorded mac'n'cheese recipe was scribbled down in 1769

Language acquisition is a natural process in which infants and children develop proficiency in the first language or languages that they are exposed to. The process of language acquisition is varied among deaf children. Deaf children born to deaf parents…

Banggwijaengi myeoneuri (방귀쟁이 며느리 The Farting Daughter-in-law) is an orally transmitted Korean folk tale.

As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford is a unique and historic institution. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students…

Thousands were shocked by the revelation that the pouches have an important function.

Its broad stripes and bright stars are up for debate. Classic American lore would have us believe that Betsy Ross made the first U.S. flag, but some historians dismiss this as just a tale.

The calf muscle is often considered the second heart because it plays a role within the circulatory system that is similar to the heart. One pump of the heart exerts enough power to send blood throughout the body, reaching the lower extremities in just seconds.…

Escape artist

Posted in r/todayilearned by u/casualintrospection • 28,505 points and 572 comments

[...] In 1967, at the age of 66, jazz master Louis Armstrong recorded a song titled, “What A Wonderful World.” Armstrong’s very poignant, gravelly-voiced version of this song – brimming with his ebullient character and optimism – is regarded as a classic...…

Mid-air collision

As if we didn't already love Morgan Freeman enough, now he's saving the bees at his massive Southern ranch in Mississippi.

Indonesian politician