› added 10 years ago

105

TIL the word “Jumbo” alludes to a remarkably large circus elephant. The word did not exist in the English language prior to the circus attraction, which came to a halt when Jumbo was hit by a Canadian train and killed. As a result, Barnum attempted to sue the railway for $100,000.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

90aQ TIL falcons sometimes become sexually imprinted on humans. In order to bred them, the breeder lets the male bird copulate with his head while wearing a special hat with pockets to catch the semen.
Oyve TIL that in 1972 three men hijacked an American DC-9 and demanded it be flown to Cuba where they hoped to strike a deal with Castro using the large ransom. Instead, Castro had them arrested and returned the aircraft, passengers, and money to the United States.
LXV TIL that the Times New Roman typeface was commissioned by The Times [of London] in 1931 after they were accused of being “badly printed and typographically antiquated”.
dD6M8 TIL that the Portuguese town of Póvoa de Varzim has its own traditional writing, used to identify goods and families, among other uses.
4XlVJ TIL there are Hallucinogenic fish, including Sarpa salpa known as "the fish that makes dreams" in Arabic.