› added 3 years ago

138

TIL the watch made its migration from the pocket to the wrist during World War I, when soldiers were obligated to attach them to their arms for coordinated attacks, instead of fumbling in their pockets. Before then, the "bracelet watch" had mostly been regarded as a joke and "silly-ass fad".

e05nE TIL in Chinese/East Asian culture, the Tiger - not the Lion- is considered the King of all Animals. This is so because it is the biggest land-predator in East Asia, and- more importantly- the markings on its forehead resemble the Chinese character for King/Monarch: "王."
AaA4 TIL that Michel Ray, the Young Actor who Played Lawrence’s Servant Farraj in Lawrence of Arabia, Quit Acting, Went to Harvard, Then into Finance, Became an Olympic Skier and Luger, Married the Heineken Heiress And Is Now A Billionaire.
woEO6 TIL Brazil, despite being a country with no colonial territories, actually had its own overseas territory shortly after becoming independent. A naval base located in what was the Portuguese Congo/Cabinda Province, with the aim of suppressing the Atlantic slave trade.
9wnvr TIL uppercase and lowercase letters are called that because back when people printed using metal letters, ink, and a brush, to keep the letters organized, the big letters were stored in the “upper” compartments and the little ones were in the “lower” compartments
l9la TIL that during the Hungarian Uprising, Radio Bucharest was raided by the Soviets in early October 1956, leaving only one western recording for the station to play: My Boy Lollypop by Barbie Gaye. The station played the song non stop for over a month, making it very much the song of the revolution.