› added 9 years ago

203

TIL that the US wanted to switch completely to the metric system and is still going slowly towards it

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OGQG7 TIL for-profit bail only exists in 2 countries (US and Philippines). Elsewhere, paying money to leave pretrial detention is considered "a debt trap for poor defendants."
nW9ed TIL One of the Walter Reade Organization's publicity stunts was a $50,000 insurance policy against anyone dying from a heart attack while watching the movie Night of the Living Dead (1968)
N7OdE TIL that in Ancient Rome, the high priest of Jupiter was not permitted to touch a horse, sleep three nights outside his own bed or one night outside Rome, or look upon an army.
5YGdQ TIL that the coat evolved from padding known as the doublet that protected the skin of knights from chafing by armor or chainmail. Around the 14th Century, it became fashionable for nobles to wear the doublet as an outer garment as if perhaps they had just come from the battlefield.
9Y1dG TIL of "Tuatara", reptiles native to New Zealand and the sole surviving member of its order, which originated in the Triassic period 240 M yrs ago. They are related to lizards and snakes but have unusual features such as they don't have external ears, and have a third eye on the top of their head.