› added 12 years ago

92

TIL a French explorer was marooned for 40 months on an island so remote that it takes a month to reach it today.

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VMeYD TIL about Colorado City, Arizona, founded in 1913 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency, an extremely rare genetic condition attributed to the prevalence of cousin marriage.
P19ZV TIL that Douglas Kelley, psychologist who examined the defendants at the Nuremberg Trials, committed suicide in front of his family by taking potassium cyanide.
newNb TIL Abraham Lincoln's interest in law starts at the bottom of a barrel. Lincoln was running a store when he bought a barrel full of rubbish from a traveler. Upon emptying the barrel Lincoln found a complete set of 'Blackstone's Commentaries' which he spent more time reading than manning the store.
loRN TIL Gangster, Al Capone started one of the first Soup Kitchens during the Great Depression for the unemployed.
wop97 TIL the 1st jet airliner passed extreme tests yet broke up in normal flight b/c the tests actually made it stronger. A 2x overpressure test on the prototype Comet strengthened it through "cold-working," making it last longer. Production Comets, lacking stress testing, wore out much faster.