› added 4 years ago

101

TIL that John Hetherington, the inventor of the top hat, caused a riot when he first wore it in public in 1797. He was arrested for "a breach of peace" after several women fainted and a young boy's arm was broken in the commotion.

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neKGr TIL that the CCP used "Struggle sessions" whereby a victim was forced to endure public humiliation and forced to admit various crimes before a crowd of people who would verbally and physically abuse the victim until he or she confessed.
plKN TIL the first RollerCoaster Tycoon was written entirely in assembly code - the raw language used by your processor - by one developer. He recieved $30 million for his efforts.
m1nZP TIL the term 'chillwave' was coined by a satirical blog to "...lampoon microgenres and indie acts whose sounds resembled incidental music from 1980s VHS tapes"
E1yQW TIL A train company invented a way to ship oil without pipelines; bitumen is converted into a solid product and sealed in plastic made from recyclables. The pucks are designed to be transported in regular container cars by train and loaded onto cargo ships at coal terminals. They float too!
N76ZE TIL the East-West Dichotomy is Cultural and not Geographic, which is why Siberia and Australia are Considered Western Despite Being in the East.