› added 5 years ago

69

TIL during the very first direct presidential election in Singapore (1993), one of the only two candidates was there only to make the election contested, and told supporters not to campaign for him. He still got 41.3% of the vote

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

XOZE TIL that Houdini hated psychics & before his death he came up with a code word for his wife. In the event of his death she was supposed to go to as many psychics as possible to see if they could guess the word. None were able, thus proving Houdini’s point.
oBJQ7 TIL that the creator of Jaws was so regretful of the anti-shark attitudes and hysteria resulting from his work that he later went on to be an outspoken advocate for marine conservation and an activist for the protection of sharks
4N9N TIL that playing action video games trains people to make the right decisions faster without loss of accuracy. Video game players develop a heightened sensitivity to what is going on around them, which helps with multitasking, driving, keeping track of friends in a crowd, and navigating around town.
yVA8v TIL in 1989 a man bought a painting for $4 at a flea market mostly because he liked the frame. He discovered a document behind the canvas. It was an official copy of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence. Only 23 were known to exist. He sold it at auction for $2.42 million in 1991.
E1xwd TIL In 1969 Forrest Parry, an IBM engineer, had the idea to affix magnetic tape to a plastic card. Every adhesive failed. He went home frustrated. His wife was ironing when he walked in. She suggested he fuse the tape onto the card with the iron. It was a success, and the magstripe card was born.