› added 3 years ago

117

TIL in 1999, financial analyst Harry Markopolos had informed the SEC that he believed it was legally and mathematically impossible to achieve the gains Bernie Madoff claimed. It took four minutes to conclude that his numbers did not add up, and another minute to suspect they were fraudulent.

Read more beatlyzer.com

via beatlyzer.com

1aX9P TIL the first attempt at a Thomas the Tank Engine TV series came as a live broadcast. The show was a disaster, with the model trains jerking around until a train derailed, and a crew member's hand visibly put it back on track. This caused so much embarrassment that the show was immediately cancelled
PmYV TIL: Ligers continue growing throughout their entire lives due to a genetic disorder called growth dysplasia. They grow twice the size of their Tiger mama’s and Lion papa’s. The largest cat in the world is a 922lb Liger.
n9E7 TIL the President of the University of Oregon turned down having “The Graduate” filmed at the school in 1967. Not wanting to make the same mistake again, he allowed another movie to be filmed there around a decade later. That movie was “Animal House”.
MeOBA TIL: In 2000, after a 25 hour siege, Irish police shot and killed a man who had fired on them several times. Following massive public outcry, they requested the FBI send a team to review their handling of the situation. The FBI concluded the main problem was that they did not shoot the man sooner.
9J1B TIL that during the Iraq war in 2003, the U.S. Military planned to attach chickens atop Hum-Vees in order to detect chemical weapons. The project was named, Operation Kuwaiti Field Chicken (KFC). However, the project failed when 41 of the 43 chickens died within a week of their arrival.