› added 4 years ago

239

TIL that the reason some cops touch your car’s tail light during traffic stops is to leave fingerprint evidence. If the officer found himself in a dangerous situation, this would prove that he or she was present at the scene.

Read more rd.com

via reddit.com

wLJ1o TIL Joseph Lister, the father of antiseptic medicine, had the idea that surgeons could prevent infecting their patients by washing and disinfecting their hands with carbolic acid before surgery. This idea earned him ridicule—until people started noticing that it did indeed help.
eYnb TIL nearly 50% of A.I. researchers believe that progress in their field will result in significant job loss on a global scale within the next 20 years.
plr4 TIL that emergency and city transit vehicles have an infrared emitter to forcibly change traffic lights.
wLwdY TIL Idaho got its name because some guy George M. Willing proposed the name to Congress, claiming that it was Shoshone Indian for “Gem of the Mountain,” when it was really just a word he made up.
n04W TIL Stephen King’s considers his first novel is, “The Long Walk.” It’s about 100 boys in a grueling walking contest where the winner is the last one to survive a never ending walk.