› added 5 years ago

79

TIL about the Anti-Superstition Society of Chicago who, in 1962, awarded John Glenn (occupant of the 13th capsule in space) with a gold watch with each number replaced with the number 13. There were 13 senators attending, each paid $13.13 to be there, and it was held on Friday the 13th.

Read more britishpathe.com

via reddit.com

b9l07 TIL you are 100 times more likely to get bit by another human in New York City than you are to get bit by a shark at the beach
wLGaY TIL that, for a brief time, there existed a breakaway "Samurai Republic" on the island of Hokkaido that held the first-ever "democratic" elections in Japan
ep796 TIL that coordinates with 6 digits past the decimal are precise enough to land you within 11cm of any given location
eW7b TIL: The word for stretching and yawning at the same time: pandiculation
Qb8M TIL Thomas Jefferson owned a sheep known he called “this abominable animal”. He kept it in front of the White House where it attacked several people and killed a small boy in 1808.