› added 2 weeks ago

TIL the first human created device to break the sound barrier was the bullwhip, as the tip creates a sharp crack which is a sonic boom.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

e0JYL TIL: Top-billed “Fast & Furious” franchise actors tried to enact contract demands that limit the number of hits their characters took, and refused to definitely lose a fight. Vin Diesel went so far as to devise a tallying system for kicks, punches, and head-butts.
YY6d TIL Over the objections of their supervisors and colleagues, Dr. Emil Freireich and Dr. Emil Frei tackled children’s Leukemia with combination chemotherapy with four different kind of drugs. Today, the cure rate for this form of cancer is more than 90 percent.
4kdEb TIL there are many different styles of French Toast. Hungarian French Toast is a savory version often served with other foods, while Hong Kong French Toast puts the filling inside the bread and then fries it. There's even a Bengali version, where peppers and vegetables are mixed into the batter.
r5bd TIL that the myth of Pandora’s box was originally “Pandora’s Jar” but through a bad translation it became accepted as a box.
KZyB TIL The largest ransom ever paid to a single individual was to the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, by the Inca Empire before their leader, Atahualpa, the victim, was executed in 1532. The ransom payment of a “roomful of gold” was probably over $2 billion in today’s economic markets.