› added 1 year ago

51

TIL that British members of parliament are not allowed to resign their seats. To get around this, they're appointed to one of two "office[s] of profit under the Crown". Since MPs aren't allowed to hold those positions, this automatically disqualifies them from sitting in parliament.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

GY9DQ TIL William Wrigley Jr. began by selling soap and offered baking powder as an incentive to buy it. Finding the baking powder more popular, he switched to selling it instead and gave his customers gum as incentive. Again, he found that the gum was more popular and began to sell it instead.
bdlE TIL that Secretariat was such a dominant race horse partly because his heart was roughly two and a half times the size of an average horse. His ample girth, long back and well made neck contributed to his heart-lung efficiency.
Br5Wr TIL 1$ worth of gold invested in 1801 would be worth 54$ by 2016, but 1$ invested in the US stock market in 1801 would be worth $16.24 million by 2016.
oBWDo TIL The Stubborn Children Law (repealed in 1973) enacted by Massachusetts Bay Colony (1646), Connecticut (1650), Rhode Island (1668), and New Hampshire (1679), allowed a disobedient son "of sufficient years and understanding" (at least 16) to be put to death.
E1yaw TIL that during the chrysalis faze of metamorphosis, a caterpillar digests itself by releasing enzymes that break down all of its tissues. Specialized groups of cells survive the process and use the protein-rich soup to build the adult body parts of the butterfly.