› added 11 years ago

178

TIL Japan has a conviction rate of more than 99%

Read more bbc.co.uk

via reddit.com

YpBLd TIL: to make an extra buck, Rod Serling of “The Twilight Zone“ tested parachutes and other experimental technologies for the Air Force. “In one instance, he earned $1,000 for testing a jet ejection seat that had killed the previous three testers.”
OoAmY TIL: Italian herbalist Pietro Andrae Matthioli declared the red tomato as a mandrake, a halogenic poisonous planet root long associated with sexual desires, hallucinations and temptation because the tomato was similar looking to nightshade, an actual poisonous fruit.
vP49D TIL that as early as 1802, Thomas Jefferson designed a cypher wheel to encrypt messages. It's unknown if he ever actually built or used one, but a similar tool was invented for the U.S. Army to use from 1920 until the start of WWII. Jefferson's designs were discovered shortly after.
ne9kP TIL: There are two red lines, on the floor, in the House Of Commons that opposing members are not allowed to cross. The measured distance is the length of two swords, and was intended to deter two members from initiating an on the spot duel.
691Z TIL that movie theaters have been banned in Saudi Arabia since the 1980s.