"TIL that Alan Turing (cryptographer responsible for breaking the Nazi Enigma code during World War II) was also an Olympic-level runner and he developed a new field of biology out of his fascination with daisies"
"TIL about Theo van Gogh, Vincent's younger Brother, whose unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting. He also died 6 months after his brother's suicide and today they are buried next to each other at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise"
"TIL dogs "play sneeze" when they're feeling excited or playful. "Play sneezes" mean your dog is having a good time and indicate to other dogs that their behavior is only play"
"TIL Virgin Atlantic kept having passengers steal their popular salt and pepper shakers. Instead of removing them from the plane, they placed the words "pinched from Virgin Atlantic" at the bottom. The shakers then became dinner table conversation pieces and free advertisement"
"TIL that cats are not nocturnal or diurnal, they are crepuscular: a circadian rhythm where they are most active during dusk/dawn (low-light hours)"
"TIL Tommy Davidson, comedian and actor from "In Living Color," was abandoned in a pile of trash at eighteen-months-old. He was rescued and adopted by a white family"
"TIL that songwriter Joni Mitchell only released a greatest hits album, "Hits", on the condition that she released a "Misses" album to go with it"
"TIL “Terminal Lucidity” is the brief return of mental clarity or memory right before before death, in people who suffer from severe dementia and other neurological disorders"
"TIL Queen Elizabeth has an official shoe-wearer who breaks in her shoes so they don't give her blisters"
"TIL in 2011 a couple from Florida turned the tables and received a judgement against Bank of America for mistakingly foreclosing the family’s home and to cover subsequent legal fees. A court issued the family a writ of execution giving them permission to seize bank assets"
"TIL : Val Kilmer has lost his voice, quite literally. The only way we may hear speak again is through a computer program"
"TIL, while you can go any speed on the Autobahn when indicated by signs, the recommended speed is 130 km per hour. If you are in an accident going 170 km per hour and it could have been avoided at the lesser speed, you will be automatically partially or fully faulted for the accident"
"TIL The Mapuche of South America were one of the very tribes successfully resisting Spanish control, staying independent for over 300 years. They called the Spaniards "New Incas", because the successfully resisted the Incan Empire as well. They were only subjugated in 1883"
"TIL there are at least 10 other men who left genetic legacies that rival Ghengis Khan's, and we only know the name of one of them: Giocangga, a 16th century ruler and ancestor of the Qinq Dynasty."
"TIL that wearing glasses actually increases a political candidate's electoral success, despite many politicians avoiding them as they think it makes them look less attractive"
"TIL in 2006, William Shatner sold a kidney stone for $25,000 to an online casino. Shatner then donated all the proceeds to charity"
"TIL about the Gibson Nine, an Australian aboriginal family who were still living a traditional nomadic lifestyle in the outback until 1984, when they settled in a town. The children have gone on to have successful careers as painters, although one of them later returned to the desert"
"TIL that 67% of all fire departments in the United States are entirely or mostly staffed by volunteers"
"TIL at least 33 people have died by electrocution from practicing Fractal Wood Burning"
"TIL in 1714 the British government offered £20K (~£2m today) to solve the longitude problem - which had cost thousands of lives due to a lack of ship positioning. John Harrison, a carpenter, took 40 years to make the perfect clock - his final version only lost 39.2 seconds over a voyage 47 days"
"TIL in the 70's and 80's, dead acidic lakes were fairly common in the US, Europe and Canada because of acid rain. The acidity in lakes killed all microbes and aquatic life, resulting in crystal clear water that allowed the lake bottom to be visible"
"TIL A century before Martin Luther, Jan Hus criticized the Catholic Church for selling of indulgences and church positions. Hus was invited to the Council of Constance, arrested, charged with heresy, and burned at the stake on 6 July 1415"'
"TIL that in 2014 the state of Alabama paid $75,000 for the right to use the phrase "Sweet Home Alabama" on road signs at the state line"
"TIL Susan Sarandon, who play a cellist named Jane in "The Witches of Eastwick", learned only after being cast that she would have to quickly learn how to play cello, and was told that she would be sued if she left the production"
"TIL that, for 25 years, "Goodnight Moon" wasn't carried at the New York Public Library because it was hated by the children's librarian"
"TIL that Charles Lindbergh’s son, Charles Lindbergh Jr., was kidnapped at 20 months old. The kidnapper picked up a cash ransom for $50,000 leaving a note of the child’s location. The child was not found at the location. The child’s remains were found a month later not far from the Lindbergh’s home"
"TIL that in 1940 Hitler decided to change the name of the battle cruiser “Deutschland” to “Lützow” recognizing that the sinking of a warship was a propaganda disaster if it bore the name of its country"
"TIL there is another photo, taken at a different angle, of the same famous Victory Day kiss in Times Square; unlike the original, the other photograph was taken by a government photojournalist on official duty, and is thus in the public domain and not protected by copyright"
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#12 I've been on the much vaunted autobahns, most of the time it was stop and go, or slow, with no chance to speed. Did get up
to speed a few times though...
A british admiral later stated: 'If the admirality had known about Turings homosexuality, we would have lost the war.'
I never knew it was scientifically named.