› added 10 years ago

115

TIL Four Presidents of the U.S. were members of the ‘Whig Party’ (1833-60). The Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the Presidency. The party was ultimately destroyed by the question of whether to allow the expansion of slavery to the territories.

m1YwR TIL in a 2009 episode, Michael Schumacher appeared on BBC's Top Gear as the Stig. Jeremy Clarkson hinted that Schumacher was not the regular Stig which was later confirmed by BBC. Schumacher was there because Ferrari would not allow anyone else to drive the Ferrari FXX featured in the show.
LQDLm TIL about the "Year Without a Summer". In 1816 a volcanic eruption in Indonesia led to unusual weather worldwide, including snowfall in June. This caused crop failures and also led to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein", which she wrote while stuck indoors due to incessant rainfall.
9wWE7 TIL that many marine animals have a salt gland that allows them to drink salt water for hydration. It's located in the skull for birds and reptiles, and in the rectum for sharks.
m1Mjy TIL that in 1915, when Cecil Chubb spent £6,600 to purchase Stonehenge, his wife was NOT happy - because she had actually sent him out to buy a dining room set. Chubb eventually gifted Stonehenge to the English people about three year later.
6pr8 TIL that payed, a common misspelling of paid, is an actual word that means an act of sealing the deck or seams of wooden ships with pitch to prevent water leakage. This makes it an atomic typo(link in comments)