Friday, July 15, 2016

Things I learned lately - 15 July


  • NASA is going to let the Juno spacecraft burn up in Jupiter's atmosphere mostly so that earth germs don't accidentally contaminate possible life on moons like Europa.
  • The US still leads with the most Netflix titles at 5082. Canada only has 3435 (48th place). But at least we do better than Australia (2414), Germany (1642) or Greenland (953).
  • The Mongols introduced rice to the Persians.
  • Timbuktu is in the African nation of Mali.
  • The Arabic word for God is Allah, whether you're Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. In case you thought only Muslims use that name.
  • Theodora, empress of the Byzantine Empire, and wife of Emperor Justinian I, participated in Justinian's legal and spiritual reforms, and her involvement in the increase of the rights of women was substantial. She had laws passed that prohibited forced prostitution and closed brothels. She created a convent called the Metanoia, where the ex-prostitutes could support themselves. She also expanded the rights of women in divorce and property ownership, instituted the death penalty for rape, gave mothers some guardianship rights over their children, and forbade the killing of a wife who committed adultery.


No comments: