› added 7 years ago

248

TIL that when the Declaration of Independence was being drafted, Benjamin Franklin suggested that the word "sacred" be replaced with "self-evident" because he believed that the nation should be founded on reason, not faith.

bgga TIL an orangutan would break out of his zoo enclosure on nice days. He did it by maneuvering through obstacles and using a key he made out of wire. Between escapes, he hid the key in his mouth.
DP7j TIL the US gas guzzler tax that was designed to discourage fuel-inefficient vehicles only applies to cars, but not SUVs, trucks, and vans, since they were rarely used as passenger cars when the law was passed in 1978. The law has since not been updated to reflect modern times.
NaP1 TIL the first African American to hold an international pilot license was Bessie Coleman, a woman who had to learn to fly in France when no one would agree to train her in the US because of her gender and race. She was licensed two years before Amelia Earhart was.
kJPG1 TIL about the "Symphony of Industrial Horns". A avant-garde rendition of The Internationale performed by Arseny Avraamov in Baku, Azerbaijan, 1922. The Symphony utilized live sounds of trains, naval vessels, factories and other industrial installations across the city as its instruments.
Wk9mL TIL On September 15, 2009, Comedy Central re-broadcasted South Park's 'Fishsticks' episode for two straight hours following the press attention towards Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.