› added 10 years ago

149

TIL that Chevy Chase avoided conscription by claiming he had homosexual tendencies.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

rAwo TIL that WiFi does not stand for Wireless Fidelity. It stands for… nothing. It’s a made up catchy name developed by a marketing company.
WbJ4 TIL that an early Chinese surgeon named Hua Tuo used Cannabis mixed with wine as an anaesthetic. As a result the Chinese term for “anesthesia” (mázui 麻醉) literally means “cannabis intoxication”.
jNlnR TIL Carousels were first invented for training knights in jousting with wooden horses and try to hit targets as they spin
Wk9mN TIL: Ireland were neutral in WW2, paid condolences to the Hitlers death, persecuted Irish men who returned after fighting for the allies, and for 9 years Irish membership to the United nations was vetoed because they had not joined the allies.
xVV8g TIL that Morocco was the first nation to recognise the United States following their independence following a friendship Sultan Mohammed III of Morocco who declared US ships protected from Barbary pirates.