HL Random Facts thread

[ELITE]

I have been itching for a thread like this. Basically a place where you can post interesting tit-bits on absolutely anything...mainly things not 'large' enough for their own thread.

Nature, history, astronomy, current affairs, education, money, ....doesn't matter.... let's share.

What say you HL fam? You down?

 

[ELITE]

gather on de hill
an celebrate your life

On Christmas day 1837, 176 years ago, the Africans and Native Americans who formed Florida’s Seminole Nation defeated a vastly superior U.S. invading army bent on cracking this early rainbow coalition and returning the Africans to slavery. The Seminole victory stands as a milestone in the march of American liberty. Though it reads like a Hollywood thriller, this amazing story has yet to capture public attention

 

[ELITE]

Ousmane Sow, a 78-year-old sculptor from Senegal, has made history this year by becoming the first African ever to join France’s Academy of Fine Arts (Academie des Beaux-Arts Paris).

Renowned for his larger-than-life clay sculptures of various subjects ranging from various ethnic groups such as Nouba wrestlers, Peulh, Masai and Zulu peoples, to political figures such as anti-apartheid South African figure Nelson Mandela, revolutionary Haitian independence hero François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture and even French statesman Charles de Gaulle, Sow’s distinct and poignant style of work has led to him become one of the continent’s most well-known and sought after artists.

 

[ELITE]

"This is NOT a reptile! This is the larva of the Hemeroplanes triptolemus moth. In its larval form it is capable of expanding its anterior body segments to give it the appearance of a snake- complete with simulated eyes. It's mimicry extends even to the point where it will harmlessly strike at potential predators."