› added 12 years ago

157

TIL a fully furnished replica of The Simpsons house existed as a prize in a contest but the winner opted to take $75,000 instead.

Read more m.mentalfloss.com

via reddit.com

OwYa TIL of Ernst Loof, the record holder for the shortest F1 career. In his first, and last, Grand Prix, he traveled 6 feet (2 metres) off the starting grid before retiring due to a malfunction.
R7VQa TIL about steam train driver Wally Oaks who heroically gave his life to stop his train after an accident engulfed the engine in flames. He saved all passengers and was posthumously awarded a George Cross for bravery.
EBGX TIL: in 2009, a South African IT company had a carrier pigeon race against the country’s largest internet service provider, Telkom, over 80 km. In a two hour period, a 4GB flash drive was carried by Winston the pigeon and read, while only 4.2% of the data had been transferred by Telkom.
b9kpa TIL that the United States has been in a conflict in 93% of it's existence.
PYP4V TIL that Theodore Roosevelt --a successful boxer at Harvard, got into a bar fight after a man called him 'four eyes' in reference to his spectacles and suggested he pay for drinks. The man held two guns and told Roosevelt to "set up the drinks." Roosevelt knocked him out and took away his guns.