› added 12 years ago

123

TIL that diesel fuel turns into a gel at low temperatures, and cannot flow into the engine. This is why some school close when the temperature is low enough to turn the fuel into a gel, preventing the buses from running.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

JYomj TIL Before the ~1870s, pink was associated with boys and blue was associated with girls. Blue was viewed as a feminine color because of its association with the Virgin Mary while pink was seen as a lighter shade of red, and therefore more masculine.
9Y4b6 TIL that three founders funded their startup by scraping their savings together to send one of them who was a professional poker player to play in a tournament. He won $30,000 which served as seed funding for Bloomnation which is a very successful firm today.
WkBeB TIL that A 1983 April Fools' Day edition of the Durand Express, reported that "dihydrogen oxide" had been found in the city's water pipes,and warned that it was fatal if inhaled,and could produce blistering vapours.The dihydrogen monoxide parody involves calling water by an unfamiliar chemical name.
woXGJ TIL that Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Little Mermaid at the same time a man he was in love with became engaged to a woman, and he was overcome with sorrow
QJny9 TIL the Norman invasion created a two-tiered language that evolved into modern English. The aristocrats spoke French, lived in "mansions" and ate "beef" and "pork", while Anglo-Saxons lived in "houses" and raised "cows" and "pigs". Also Old English words for poop, butt and sex became vulgar words.