› added 4 years ago

54

TIL Victor Hugo had a political career where, among other things, he advocated for universal suffrage and free education for all children.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

W7yxo TIL that The Netherlands doesn't use sand for their trains, but a mixture called Sandite, it's a gel consisting of sand, anti-freeze, and steel shot. Often dispensed by the first passenger trains of the day to combat leaf slipperyness.
Blor TIL of ‘Courage’, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle mascot of the Second Australian Calvary Regiment. After refusing to cooperate on a training exercise, Courage flew away for two days. Once located, he was found to have been AWOL, and was formally demoted from the rank of Corporal back to Trooper.
d8bNE TIL that the Kingdom of Bhutan, a small landlocked country in the Himalayas, does not recognize or have any formal diplomatic relations with the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council as a measure to keep them out of global affairs.
Oo9OY TIL that Rube Goldberg was actually a cartoonist, and not a physicist or inventor. He drew imaginary inventions by a character named "Professor Butts"
Wk0WX TIL In 1955 Playboy published a story about straight men being persecuted in a world where homosexuality was the norm. After many angry letters, Hefner wrote a response to criticism where he said, "If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society then the reverse was wrong, too."