› added 7 years ago

547

TIL A 60-year-old man attempted to invoke the ancient rite of trial by combat instead of paying a minor motoring fine

Read more telegraph.co.uk

via reddit.com

WMgY TIL that it is estimated that we have a 2% chance of confirming extraterrestrial life within ten years.
DQwAY TIL that a teacher called Angela Ruiz-Robles invented the mechanical precursor to the e-book in 1949
KY1xa TIL scientists simulated the impact of a nuclear winter on corn, the most planted grain crop in the world. In the worst case scenario, they found that a global nuclear war, which would inject 165 million tons of soot into the atmosphere, could lead to an 80% drop in annual corn yields.
x6WB TIL The Soviet Union, in 1922, (under Vladimir Lenin) was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality
g4BW TIL a team at Nike created a pair of sneakers inspired by the ‘Heaven’s Gate’ UFO cult (who wore Nike Decades when they killed themselves). They never made it into stores.