› added 7 years ago

180

TIL of Prize Insurance, which companies buy instead of prizes for competitions. The policy pays out in the unlikely event that somebody wins the competition.

Read more worldwidespecialrisks.co.uk

via reddit.com

YpLax TIL the secular holiday Festivus was not invented for Seinfeld. It was created in the mid sixties by author Daniel O'Keefe as a way of rejecting the commercialism of Christmas with his family. His son later was a writer for Seinfeld and introduced his family's tradition.
rRPmW TIL that English and American Suffragettes, in attempt to create attention to their cause, terrorized golf courses. They swapped hole flags, ambushed players like the Prime Minister and Winston Churchill, and wrote "Votes for Women," "Votes or War," "No votes, no golf" on the green by using Acid.
9oZQ TIL Louisiana is the prison capital of the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly five times Iran’s, 13 times China’s, 20 times Germany’s and is the only US state with an annual average murder rate over twice the national average.
VBQgQ TIL Union Army General John Sedgwick died scolding his men due to them taking cover from sharpshooter fire. Striding around in the open, his last words were “They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."
DAEg TIL Americans and Europeans use their utensils differently because forks weren’t largely available to the British colonies until the 1750’s, so Americans had to use rounded table knives and spoons to eat, without stabbing their food.