› added 7 years ago

246

TIL that an Australian family used a large black crystal as a doorstop for over a decade before realizing that it held a 733-carat black sapphire, the Black Star of Queensland

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

9YrVB TIL of Matthew Hahn, a thief who stole a safe, cracked it open, and discovered pictures of the owner molesting a 2 year old. He then turned it in anonymously, and ended up getting sentenced to 14 years for unrelated crimes, the owner got sentenced to 30.
4mLR TIL “Space Invaders” the game was intended to always be at the same speed, but as you destroy more aliens, the computer can render faster. This is why the aliens speed up as you near the end of the level.
GY711 TIL the first Troll doll was created by a danish fisherman who could not afford giving his daughter a christmas gift. When the other children saw it they all wanted one as well.
WDP9 TIL that while recording Sex Pistols song Pretty Vacant in 1977, John Lydon emphasized “vacant”’s second syllable - so he could sneak the word ‘ct’ onto TV/radio. 35 years later the song was played in London’s 2012 Olympics opening ceremony – so Britain sneakily said 'ct’ to the entire world.
XEVVX TIL - During a nationwide student protest, National Guard troops fired upon and killed several students at Kent State. Republican Governer, Jim Rhodes had called the protesters "the worst type of people" and "we're going touse every part of the law enforcement agency ... to eradicate the problem"