› added 5 years ago

259

TIL that there are 5,280 feet in a mile because in 1592, Parliament decided that a mile should be made up of eight furlongs, which are each 660 feet.

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W7EyB TIL That Garrett Brown, inventor of the Skycam suspended camera used to shoot sporting events, got the idea from a conversation with former football player Merlin Olsen the set of Little House on the Prairie.
9wOLG TIL that Niagara Falls consists of 3 waterfalls, rather than 2. The falls consist of the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls (which is significantly smaller than both the Horseshoe and American Falls).
LkQnv TIL during the Cold War the Canadian government commissioned a "fruit machine" to detect homosexuality
nAad TIL of Donald Crowhurst who in 1968 entered an around the world yacht race, he abandoned the race early on but continued to report false positions in an attempt to make it appear as if he was still competing and ultimately went insane and killed himself
yVdaM TIL about the tallest fountain in the world, located in Saudi Arabia, 'launched' in 1985