TIL Products made by incarcerated New Yorkers, who earn as little as 16 cents an hour, power a $50 million-a-year industry. (gothamist.com)
Gothamist is a non-profit local newsroom, powered by WNYC.
TIL that at the funeral of his first wife, Kato Svanidze, Stalin said "This creature softened my heart of stone. She died and with her died my last warm feelings for humanity." During her burial, S... (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL that in Singapore, people who opt-out of donating their organs are put on a lower priority to receive an organ transplant than those who did not opt-out. (singaporelegaladvice.com)
TIL the founders of Outback Steakhouse intentionally decided not to visit Australia, as they were concerned that having too much authenticity would confuse customers (www.entrepreneurship.org)
Combining the allure and fun of an Australian theme with savvy advertising and PR plus sports related sponsorships led Outback Steakhouse to the top slotted brand in the steakhouse business with over 700 locations globally
TIL Reddit used to be open source. In 2017, they went closed source citing ‘transparency’ issues
TIL the world's oldest terrarium / sealed bottle ecosystem has been thriving since 1960. The 10-gallon bottle is like a mini Earth. It has only been opened once in 53 years to add a bit more water ... (biologicperformance.com)
Checkout one of the oldest terrarium gardens in the world! Read the story of David Latimer’s sealed bottle ecosystem from the 1960’s.
TIL that Yoko Ono created an experimental film called Self-Portrait. It's a 42 minute shot of John Lennon's semi-erect penis. It was shown once at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1969, and ha... (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL During the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, one of the outer window panes on the bathysphere cracked. They opted to continue, and successfully reached the bottom. (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL that Adolf Hitler favored Clark Gable above all other actors. During World War II, Hitler offered a sizable reward to anyone who could capture and bring Gable to him unscathed. (wikipedia.org)
TIL that in 1983, a diving chamber containing four men was accidentally depressurized. This caused the blood of three divers inside to boil instantly, while the fourth diver was forced through a 60... (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL "Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat" was an unofficial mascot of the 2000 Summer Olympics. He proved so popular that the Australian Olympic Committee attempted to ban athletes appearing with Fatso to s... (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL Of Titanic Thompson, a prolific hustler and golfer of the early 20th century. One of Thompson's tricks was to play righthanded, win, and offer to play double or nothing lefthanded, he was natur... (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL orcas cultural fads. In the 1980s one such fad was wearing dead salmon as hats. It spread to three separate Pacific pods before suddenly going out of style. (www.atlasobscura.com)
TIL that the line "There's one for you, nineteen for me" in the Beatles song "Taxman" was not an exaggeration - at the time, the highest UK tax rate was 95%. (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL Pygopodidae, aka “legless lizards”, are a type of gecko that strongly resembles snakes while being unrelated to them. (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL of Chaser, a border collie whose tested memory was the highest of any non-human animal. She could identify and retrieve 1022 different toys based on name and category. (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL that Lucille Ball convinced Merv Griffin to hire Alex Trebek to host the revival of Jeopardy in 1984 when original host Art Fleming, a friend of Trebek’s, declined to return. Trebek holds the G... (wikipedia.org)
TIL: The US Navy used Xbox 360 controllers to operate the periscopes on submarines based on feedback from junior officers and sailors; the previous controls for the periscope were clunky and real h... (www.theverge.com)
But not for gaming
TIL Chinese checkers is actually called Sternhalma and is not related to Chinese culture or the the game of checkers and was invented in Germany in 1892. (www.wikipedia.org)
TIL a mentally unstable man in Canada cut down a rare golden spruce tree, sacred to Indigenous people, to protest the logging industry. His trial was on the island where he cut down the tree. Feari... (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL a fishing boat crowded with migrants traveling from Libya to Italy sank in Greek waters last week. While hundreds are still missing and feared dead, it has garnered far less attention and resource (www.nbcnews.com)
TIL in 1980 the FBI formed a fake company and attempted to bribe members of congress. Nearly 25% of those tested accepted the bribe, and were convicted.
TIL that in 1920, the town of Jackson, Wyoming elected an all-female town council by a margin of 2-1 over the men, drawing the most voters the town had ever seen.
Known as the “pettycoat rulers,” the women served for 3 years and did a great deal to clean up the notoriously lawless town.
TIL Glen Close is in Hook
TIL platypuses glow under blacklight (www.nationalgeographic.com)
