› added 13 years ago

385

TIL that when Rudolph Diesel produced his engine in 1896, he assumed that it would run off of vegetable and seed oils - especially hemp.

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4kOwJ TIL that Ace Hardware Corporation, now the world's largest hardware retail cooperative and the largest non-grocery American retail cooperative, was created in 1924 when three entrepreneurs united their Chicago hardware stores into “Ace Stores,” named after the ace fighter pilots of World War I.
Y7RPv TIL that there were 1752 books in Newton’s personal library after his death. (1763 if being included titles of which Newton owned more than one copy). Here's a category breakdown: Theology (477), Alchemy (169), Mathematics (126), Physics (52), Astronomy (33).
kOK01 TIL a random British captain was chosen by George Washington to be executed in response to a hanging by loyalists which itself was in retaliation for another death. The allied French got involved after the French mother of the captain petitioned and he was released
PY6xL TIL Swedish-built cars -- Saabs and Volvos -- are specifically reinforced so that the occupants will survive if they hit a moose.
mxr1O TIL Viagra can double shelf life of cut flowers, making them stand up straight for as long as a week beyond their natural lifespan