› added 1 year ago

305

TIL about William Hoy, the most accomplished deaf player in MLB history. He couldn’t hear the umpire’s ball & strike calls, & the stadium had no scoreboard for him to follow the count. So, the third-base coach signaled to him by raising his left index finger for a ball, the right for a strike.

Read more history.com

via reddit.com

0dbap TIL when Japanese-American Norm Mineta was interned as a child, US authorities confiscated his baseball bat. Later elected to Congress, someone gifted him a $1500 Hank Aaron bat-- which he had to return, since it violated House rules on gifts. Said Mineta: "The damn government's taken my bat again."
P15rE TIL that woman in the U.S. found an ancient Maya vase for $3.99 while thrifting. Recognizing its similarity to museum artifacts, she felt curious and responsible. After confirming its historical significance, she returned it to Mexico, where authorities verified its authenticity.
l79aA TIL the Bantu term "Mzungu" (a derogatory for White people) originally meant "wanderers" and referred to European explorers.
QNgge TIL the Incas had a data storage/sharing device called "quipus" [kee-poos] in which cords of different colors and sizes were used to pass information down through generations by tying knots in them at different intervals. Unfortunately the ability to translate the data has been lost.
depr TIL Microsoft publishes a screen saver that simulates a Windows BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). It even reads system information so it can accurately simulate a BSOD specific to the machine it is running on.