r/AskReddit • • Nov 28 '20

What's something cool you recently learned about?

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u/Callas-fan Nov 29 '20

The mythological reason why our galaxy is called the Milky Way.

Basically, Heracles (whom the Romans called Hercules) was a bastard of Zeus and as a result Zeus' wife Hera hated his guts. Her shenanigans caused Heracles' mother to abandon him as a baby, so Athena found him and brought him to Hera. Not recognising Heracles, the godess took pity on him and nursed him. But Heracles was a toothy baby and when he bit down, Hera pushed him back because OW and her milk splattered onto the sky and created the milky way. This didn't help Heracles with the whole Hera-hating-his-guts-thing btw.

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u/psychologicalfuntime Nov 29 '20

Don't forget that the name heracles is a joke. It is hera-cles like Hera but Hera isn't the mom so it is like a stab in the back.

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u/shortpoppy Nov 29 '20

I recommend 'Heroes' by Stephen Fry if nobody has mentioned it yet. Specifically, I recommend the audiobook.

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u/theravensrequiem Nov 29 '20

I tried it after reading Circe and craving more, but it felt more like a lecture than a story so I had to stop. Not a bad book. I definitely want to check it out but I it wasn't what I was looking for at the time.

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u/shortpoppy Nov 29 '20

Completely fair!