› added 12 years ago

99

TIL the last man executed by electric chair in the U.S. was removed from the death penalty on appeal. Thinking this made him immune, he boasted of his crimes, supplying evidence which allowed him to be re-convicted and then executed.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

lBmr TIL The original Playboy Bunnies were required to be able to identify 143 brands of liquor and how to make 20 different cocktails as part of their job requirements.
dmDK TIL that one day in 1871, Canada was perfectly visible from Rochester, NY. The phenomenon was known as the Rochester Mirage
epNZb TIL Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, an American physician and Nobel Prize winner, was charged of child molestation, including that of the children brought home from research trips to live with him.
gGnb TIL the North and South Poles have no official time zones. In the North, countries which have research stations follow their respective countries’ times. The South Pole has only one research station (US-owned), and they use New Zealand time because researchers fly in from Christchurch.
4ZBb TIL The Japanese Yakuza use a racketeering practice known as Sōkaiya to extort money from businesses. They buy enough shares to have a seat at meetings, then threaten to show up and disclose secrets about company leaders. This usually works because Japanese fear shame more than anything.