Today I Learned (TIL)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/GetYerHandOffMyPen15 on 2025-02-16 03:31:10.

Original Title: TIL that phosphorus was the first new element to be discovered since ancient times. In 1669, a German alchemist tried boiling and condensing urine in order to make the fabled philosopher’s stone. Instead, he discovered a substance that glowed in the dark and named it “phosphorus mirabilis.”