› added 5 years ago

228

TIL a man in England accidentally blew up his parents’ house after he knocked on a stove’s control, which burned a clothes basket, which then lit a grocery bag on fire and caused an aerosol can of deodorant to explode, resulting in £20,000 ($26,182) in damages.

Read more telegraph.co.uk

via reddit.com

49Wg TIL that Shell had a peaceful non-violent protest leader murdered by Nigeria because they wanted oil on the land of the protester. Shell was sued and settled the lawsuit for millions.
rNm1o TIL Karey Mullis - the scientist who developed PCR (the technique used to detect viruses like HIV) did not believe HIV existed. He also came up with tbe idea of PCR - which garnered him the nobel prize - by conversing with a glowing alien racoon.
7rNer TIL The late famous Swedish DJ Tim Bergling's stage name Avicii "means the lowest level of hell, it's just cool," Avicii told USA TODAY back in 2012. Indeed, in Buddhism, Avīci is a hell where dead who have sinned will, after enduring punishment, be reborn. Rest in peace Tim.
LkglQ TIL many countries have their own version of “when pigs fly.” In South Africa it’s “When horses grow horns.” In Russia: “When the crawfish whistles on the mountain.” In Albania: “On August 36.” In Greece: “Right on the Day of St. Dick’s”
dDxwQ TIL that European aristocrats thought tomatoes were poisonous in the 1700s and nicknamed them "poison apples". In fact the problem was aristocrats used pewter plates and the acid in the tomatoes leached the lead into the food.