› added 6 years ago

100

TIL that, in 1913, a Nebraska man took a butcher knife and threatened to kill his wife and newborn son. The mother left him, remarried, and had the boy's name changed to that of his step-father. The boy, now known as Gerald Ford, later went on to become the 38th President of the United States.

grl48 TIL The F-104 Starfighter jet had such an abysmal safety record it was called the Widowmaker in West Germany. 292 of 916 units were lost to accidents there. Other countries reported similar rates
mBQE TIL of former California Arson Investigator John Orr, a serial arsonist who likely set over 2000 fires over a ten year period.
W7N68 TIL that "Desperado", the song by the Eagles, was recorded in London with musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Lead vocalist Don Henley was intimidated by the large orchestra, and would later express regret that he did not sing as well as he could.
QJgka TIL the Beatles asked Stanley Kubrick to direct Lord of the Rings with them starring in it. John Lennon wanted to play Gollum, Paul McCartney Frodo, Ringo Starr Sam, and Harrison Gandalf. Kubrick turned them down, and Tolkien didn’t like the idea of a Beatles adaptation of his work
8eRmX TIL In a study of antioxidant content of 3,100 foods, Amla (Indian Gooseberry) ranked #1 by far. It has 18X the amount of antioxidants as blueberries which are often touted as a high antioxidant food. Other high score foods: bilberries, black currants, blackberries, goji berries, cranberries.