3. TIL that Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian Ethnographer, sailed from Peru to Polynesia...

TIL that Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian Ethnographer, sailed from Peru to Polynesia on an primitive balsa wood raft to prove that ancient trans-oceanic travel was possible. When experts called it a fluke, he made an Egyptian reed boat and sailed it from Morocco to Central America to prove them wrong.

I very clearly remember being taught he was a racist dickhead who wanted to prove Hawaiians were too stupid to navigate against the current , and must have drifted there. This would have backed up his belief that Polynesians were from South America, not Asia. Most anthropologists today through DNA and artifacts can prove Polynesians originate from Asia, specifically Taiwan. He might have “made it” crashing on to some deserted island on his balsa raft. But Hawaiians have proved for years after that with their ancient knowledge they can sail to and from Asia and all throughout the Pacific successfully so I really dont get why we should celebrate this guy lol

/r/todayilearned Thread Link - kon-tiki.no
Previous
Next

Recently removed from /r/todayilearned

TIL Thomas(ine) Hall was declared both a man and a woman in a Virginia court in 1629 and ordered to wear men's clothing with a woman's apron and bonnet. He/She would present as either gender carnally and when working as soldier, lacemaker, field laborer, or maid. Thomasine was physically intersex. TIL that the low cost wine brand "Two Buck Chuck" was created by Fred Franzia, who bought the Charles Shaw name from a bankrupt winery for $27k. Once when asked why his wine was cheaper than water, he replied "They're overcharging for the water. Don't you get it?" TIL that butterflies have 4 wings not 2 (found out on an episode of Benidorm during a pub quiz) TIL Don Quixote, considered one of the first modern novels, is also one of the first stories that uses meta-fiction, as the author plays pretend that his story comes from historical sources and had to search for lost documents and translations to complete it. TIL "Rudy", of Notre Dame football fame, was involved in a pump-and-dump scheme and had a settlement with the SEC for >$380,000. TIL Brazil found incarcerated populations read 9x as much as the general population. They made a new program for prisoners so each written book review took 4 days off a prison sentence. TIL most English speaking countries around the world pronounce “Z” as “zed” but the United States is the only one that does not. Unlike other English speak countries the US pronounces it “zee.” TIL Snoop Dogg was excommunicated by the Rastafari Council after his attempt to rebrand as Rastafarian "Snoop Lion" TIL Some of the reasons people drive aggressively include a sense of anonymity while driving, feeling more empowered driving than in the rest of their lives, and a feeling that other drivers have previously driven aggressively around them. TIL about Nasubi from Japan's (perhaps the entire world's) most controversial TV show ever recorded. Nasubi lived alone in a tiny room for 15 months completely naked and only able to survive based on items he won from sweepstakes. More info in comments. TIL by passing a law requiring pharmacies to be owned by a licensed pharmacist, North Dakota has essentially done away with corporate chain pharmacies. Corporations that own pharmacies must be majority owned by licensed pharmacists. TIL that the Fahrenheit scale was standardized 18 years before Celsius. The world switch due to the British Empire. The United States is actually using the earlier standard. TIL that the famous James Bond theme (first heard in 1962 in Dr. No) was source of a long running dispute between John Barry and Monty Norman. Norman had originally written a song for a musical adaptation of V. S. Naipaul's novel A House for Mr Biswas which was the inspiration. TIL that the parasite H. zschokkei is the only multicellular organism that does not rely on Oxygen for respiration. It relies on a currently undiscovered energy metabolism to sustain itself. TIL, cold or rainy weather cannot make you sick

More Random Comments

ELI5: Why do birds walk the way they do? You know, with the bobbing of their heads from front to back? (serious) How do you deal with toxic people that you have to see and interact with daily? LAOP's mom skipped federal student loans and went straight to private loans and pocketed the money When governments criminalize homelessness Family Wedding Drama [WTS] Unimatic and Hodinkee GMT Limited Edition Speculation Thread | Monday Edition - July 12, 2021 I'm 16 and going through all these posts makes me dream of being financially free one day. Please someone with experience let me know how to start How to stop repeating the same scenario? Wii U Hacking Q&A: "Whoops, it expired again" edition Rule 3444 Finale date and time announced What are the possibilities of us getting back? Women of reddit who were "good girls" in your teens, how did it change in your twenties? Did you suddenly become wild? How can I approach women I’m interested in if I’m physically unattractive?