› added 7 months ago

41

TIL that the Hoover Dam contains enough concrete to build a two-lane road from San Francisco to New York.

Read more dudestuffmedia.com

via reddit.com

jN1Dv TIL that the microwave oven was invented by accident. In 1945, Percy Spencer, an American self-taught engineer, was working in a lab testing magnetrons, the high-powered vacuum tubes inside radars that produced microwaves, where he noticed a peanut butter candy bar in his pocket had begun to melt
OGl4X TIL that after alleged Catholic involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the US cut off diplomatic relations with the Holy See (the Pope) and did not restore them until 1984.
woXoY TIL Newton's phrase about standing on the shoulders of giants dates back to at least 1159. John of Salisbury wrote then that "we see more and farther than our predecessors, not because we have keener vision or greater height, but because we are lifted up and borne aloft on their gigantic stature."
N7Z8N TIL that Leonard Nimoy broke into the music scene in the late 60's. One of his most popular songs was about Bilbo Baggins.
oRw6E TIL flannel refers to a type of fabric, not a plaid or tartan pattern. "[N]ot all flannel shirts are plaid and not all plaid shirts are flannel."