› added 12 years ago

96

TIL that Albert Michelson, celebrated for his work in discovering the speed of light, got a free education at the US naval accademy just because he hung out by the door to the Whitehouse and went (initially uninvited) for daily morning walks with the President (Grant).

Read more brianmicklethwait.com

via reddit.com

1aD5O TIL real human skulls are traded on Instagram by a small but active underground collectors’ market. The skulls are decorated and sold by macabre enthusiasts. Some sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
4rLN TIL that Freddie Mercury gave DJ Kenny Everett one of the first copies of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, informing him that it was his personal record not meant to be played on air. Everett disregarded the request and played it on his show 14 times in two days, leading to the song’s massive success.
xJ07 TIL that a 17-year old kid murdered his parents and hid their bodies in a locked bedroom so he could throw a huge house party.
Ql8X TIL that before 2003, it was legal for 16-year-old girls to pose topless in British newspapers. One paper, the Daily Sport, was known to count down the days until it could feature a girl topless on her 16th birthday.
BrROD TIL the lazy cops-donuts stereotype was the exact opposite of its origin: cops used to frequent donut shops in the past because they need to have work done and donut shops were the only ones that are open really early in the morning (to prepare for the breakfast rush).