› added 5 months ago

17

TIL that the slingshot (catapult in the UK) was only invented in the mid-1800s, as it relies on strong elastic materials that didn’t exist before that time.

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yVJLl TIL that 'Succotash' from Sylvester the cat's "sufferin' succotash" catchphrase isn't just a made-up word, but actually a North American food made with sweet corn
jN6Lv TIL "jayus" is the Indonesian word used when the joke said by someone is so bad one cannot help but laugh
jNORM TIL the Red, White, & Blue Bomb Pop was created the summer of 1955 as Cold War tensions between the US and Soviet Union were heating up, with nervousness and caution surrounding a possibility of nuclear war building to a fever pitch. Marketed as a Patriotic Popsicle, associated with the 4th of July.
1aX4X TIL LBJ as VP "invited" a Pakistani camel cart driver named Bashir Sarban to the White House. Though he said it as a formality, the governments of both the US and Pakistan made it happen. LBJ and Bashir had a meal at the Johnson ranch outside Dallas, and Bashir toured the country over a week.
wpO8 TIL that a tiny (1sq. cm) transparent Australian jellyfish has venom delivering tentacles a metre long, and whose sting causes Irunkandji syndrome, which induces feelings of impending doom, severe pain, and cardiac arrest.