› added 12 years ago

166

TIL less than a month after the first traffic light went operational, it exploded and killed the unfortunate traffic cop who was operating it.

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lox4B TIL Fernald State school exposed mentally ill children to radioactive isotopes to document the effects. They had no permission from the kids or their parents & told the kids they were part of a “science club.” The experiments were conducted by Harvard University & sponsored by Quaker Oats.
VMOmG TIL of Philippa Fawcett, an English mathematician and the first woman to have topped the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos, but who despite scoring 13% higher than the second top scorer did not receive the honorary title of Senior Wrangler.
Ypm5W TIL that in Japanese, being bisexual is referred to as "Nitoryu", or "Dual-wielding"
6E1y7 TIL That Antarctica was originally called Terra Australis until the nineteenth century, when the colonial authorities in Sydney removed the Dutch name from New Holland. Instead of inventing a new name to replace it, they took the name Australia from Antarctica leaving it nameless for eighty years.
yQWgV TIL That Dolly Parton almost lost her toes at the age of 7/8 when she jumped over a fence and landed on a mason jar. Her father and brothers held her down while her mother poured kerosene over the wound and sewed her toes back together.