straightdope.com

mxyyO TIL that roads are built to accommodate whatever uses them and back in Ancient Rome this was a chariot or two horses asses, which was than used to gauge railway, which was than used to gauge the solid rocket boosters on the space shuttle.
R7O4w TIL that speed readers were asked to read a text without knowing that every other line came from a different source yet they didn't notice it. In another study, speed readers scored 68% in a standard comprehension test, but the tests were so easy that people who never read the material scored 57%
WkAPX TIL that "piggy" bank originally had nothing to do with pigs. "Pygg," in Olde English, was a type of clay used to make jars, containers..., and coin banks. It was also pronounced like "pug." As time passed, the "y" in "pygg" was pronounced like a short "I," and the rest is history.