› added 13 years ago

239

TIL Monopoly was originally intended to teach the player the broken nature of Capitalism

Read more washingtoncitypaper.com

via reddit.com

v18nB TIL about Data Rot, a phenomena where stored data can gradually corrupted as the time goes on. This is why newly installed OS' are faster, and why they seem to slow down over time.
wLMrM TIL that in the US 2x4 timber isn't 2x4, it's nominally 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches due historical practices in the lumber industry. And hardwood is different again and sold in board feet.
kv45 TIL of “Japan’s hardest test”, the Kendo 8th dan Judgement Test. Held twice each year, less than 1% ever pass. Out of ~200 million Kendo swordsmen in the country, less than 400 have achieved 8th dan.
KYGo6 TIL King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia created a military regiment of taller-than-average men. He scoured the country for men to fill the ranks of his "Potsdam Giants." Nations sent him tall soldiers to secure good relations. He even tried to pair them with tall women to breed a race of giants!
KYEr6 TIL the SL-1 was the only reactor accident in U.S. history which resulted in immediate fatalities, killing 3 military operators in 1961, pinning one of them to the ceiling.