allenahansen
allenahansen t1_iy352ni wrote
Reply to comment by GratefulNMD in TIL of the Arisan Maru, a Japanese "hell ship" that was torpedoed while carrying Allied prisoners of war. None of the 1,781 passengers were killed by the explosion, but other Japanese ships refused to rescue them, resulting in only 9 survivors. by Jupitair
Thank you for this link; it's on my watch list now.
allenahansen t1_iy33w5r wrote
Reply to TIL that according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "grandfather clock" originated from the popular song "My Grandfather's Clock", written in 1876 by American composer Henry Clay Work. by jvsrvs
When I was a little girl, my father used to sing this rather creepy song to me as a lullaby; I've housed an inordinate dislike of Grandfather Clocks ever since. . . .
allenahansen t1_j58zmd5 wrote
Reply to TIL that the Brazilian village of Candido Godoi, 7k inhabitants mostly of German descent, have the greatest birth rate of twins in the world (1/5 births). Some believe it is the result of genetic experiments of nazi medic Mengele, notorious for his obsession with creating an Aryan race. by greenland1237
In the late 1950s, my family lived in a small, recently-built housing tract in Long Beach, California that counted 17 sets of twins, 3 sets of triplets, and 1 set of quadruplets all under the age of 12 in a total of 54 homes. I think it was some sort of national record, although no one could figure out if it was environmental or simply coincidence.
I do know that my youngest sister --who was conceived and born there-- ended up dying of early onset breast cancer at the age of 36.