› added 7 years ago

94

TIL that the Marquis de Sade, from which we derive the term "sadism," actually played a part in inciting the French revolution: While a prisoner in the Bastille, he screamed from the window of his cell that prisoners were being murdered there. Ten days later, the Bastille was stormed.

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ZpDlY TIL Mel Brooks won an Oscar for making fun of his own movie. After watching an abstract animated short Brooks commissioned his own short and improvised a commentary to make The Critic (1963) which won Brooks his first Oscar.
78brP TIL there's almost twice as many January-born professional football (soccer) players as there are December-born players. And in the U17's European championships squads there's over four times as many players born between January and March as between October and December.
XEgVX TIL When buttons were invented in the 13th century, wealthy women did not dress themselves — their lady’s maid did. As most people are right-handed, it was easier for maids to fasten with the buttons on the left. And that's why men's and women's buttons are on opposite sides.
0wvPA TIL that Brutus, the famous senator who murdered Julius Caesar, was a descendant of Lucius Junius Brutus, the man who overthrew the Roman King Tarquin the Proud and established the Roman Republic
dWvB TIL in 1976, Steve Jobs offered Atari founder Nolan Bushnell a 30% stake in Apple if Bushnell would put $50,000 towards the company. He said no. “It’s kind of fun to think about that, when I’m not crying.”