› added 8 months ago

32

TIL that Magnús Scheving (Spartacus, LazyTown) made a bet with a friend to master a sport chosen by the other within three years. He was assigned aerobics, while his friend was assigned snooker. Eventually, he became a national champion in aerobics; his friend became a national champion in snooker.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

1axm8 TIL that the hit Paul Anka song My Way recorded by Frank Sinatra '69 and later Elvis Presley '73 was copied note for note from a French song Comme d'habitude(As Usual) by Claude François '67 with the lyrics completely changed from the original love song.
Ypnlv TIL The bottlenose dolphin sleeps by shutting down half its brain along with the opposite eye. The other half remains awake at a low level of alertness to watch for predators and to surface to breath. After about two hours it reverses the process so the other half can rest.
wLJv7 TIL the Maori in New Zealand had their own dogs, but they couldn't survive breeding with the european dogs so died out within 100 years of Captain cook's first voyage.
Ow1e TIL there is a “No-Go Zone” in France as a result of WWI battles which littered the grounds with unexploded weapons and toxic chemicals
LkD90 TIL of the staggering level of American alcohol consumption in the 1800s. It peaked in 1830, at the equivalent of 1.7 bottles of standard-strength whiskey, per person, per week.