› added 13 years ago

170

TIL that in 1917, a bank in Utah was built using 80,000 bricks mailed via USPS in 50-pound packages to save on freight costs.

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Wkylo TIL Lays marketed a low calorie "WOW" brand of chips that made consumers crap their pants. The main ingredient, Olestra, is a fat substitute which allows for frying without calories being added. The problem is your body can't absorb it. Consumers suffered from cramping, diarrhea, and anal leakage.
kJdA4 TIL that the US considered dropping an atomic bomb on Kyoto. However, Secretary of War Henry Stimson had vacationed there and admired the city. So, he convinced President Truman to choose another target due to Kyoto’s religious significance. Nagasaki was chosen in its place.
mejR TIL: Nintendo’s Mario is named after the landlord of the warehouse Nintendo was using as their American headquarters, the company had gotten behind in rent payment, prompting an angry visit from Mario, the developers subsequently immortalized him by renaming “Jumpman” to “Mario”.
gpj7 TIL the collective nouns we use for animals (gaggle of geese, herd of deer etc.) mostly come from the Book of St Alban’s published in 1486. It also included terms for professions such as a melody of harpists, a sentence of judges and a superfluity of nuns.
yQ5yJ TIL Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offered a $100,000 start up grant to design next generation condoms that “significantly preserves or enhances pleasure” and promote regular use.