› added 10 years ago

181

TIL the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company once sent out scratch & sniff stickers to educate the public on the smell of a gas leak, only for it to backfire when the smell of the unopened envelopes were mistaken for gas leaks.

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

yVkBV TIL in 1714, a Norwegian captain and an English captain had a 14-hour long ship fight. Afterwards, both ships were badly damaged and the Norwegian captain was running out of ammo. He sent an envoy to the English ship, asking if he could borrow some of their ammo. They said no.
e0nmn TIL that in Peru in 2007, a meteorite impact caused a "mystery illness" that turned out to be widespread arsenic poisoning from the meteorite evaporating contaminated groundwater
neb7d TIL In the year 2000, in what is considered the most dominant season of golf in history, Tiger Woods was 160 under for 36 rounds and averaged a staggering 67.33. He had a total of 9 wins, 3 being in a row.
Z858D TIL of Project X-Ray. This cancelled World War 2 weapon, when deployed, would disperse Mexican free-tailed bats carrying small incendiary bombs. The bats would then roost onto buildings before igniting. It was intended to be used in Japan, were many buildings were made of wood and paper.
LQkZV TIL about Kriegspiel, a chess variant where each player can see their own pieces, but not those of their opponent. Players attempt to move on their turns, and the umpire declares their attempts 'legal' or 'illegal'. If the move is illegal, the player tries again; if it is legal, that move stands.