› added 12 years ago

257

TIL that North Korea has a space program and it only has a 20% success ratio.

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R4m4 TIL the Eiffel Tower requires 60 to 70 tonnes of paint to cover the entire structure. The tower is also painted a lighter shade at the bottom and a darker shade near the top to counteract the effect of atmospheric perspective.
woZE8 TIL the Babylonians used base 60 instead of base 10 for their mathematical calculations. This is why we have 60 seconds in a minute and 360 degrees in a circle.
b9KbZ TIL that Hollywood tough guy Charles Bronson actually was an aerial gunner which conducted combat missions against the Japanese home islands. He flew 25 missions and received a Purple Heart for wounds received in battle.
mwwO TIL diamonds aren’t rare; their demand is a marketing invention. In 1938 De Beers hired an ad agency who arbitrarily decided that a diamond engagement ring is worth 1 month’s salary. It worked so well they increased it to 2 months’ salary. De Beers carefully restricts supply to keep the prices high.
gaK4 TIL the ‘tattoo gun’ that artists commonly use today was originally a pen that could write through multiple pieces of paper invented by Thomas Edison in 1876. It was modified in 1891 for use with tattooing.