› added 9 years ago

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TIL of “Unsinkable” Sam, a sailor during WWII who survived the sinking of the Bismarck, switched sides to the Allies, then survived the sinking of both the HMS Cossack and the HMS Ark Royal. Unsinkable Sam is also a cat.

Read more thegreatcat.org

via reddit.com

JY6X1 TIL: The graphics company Nvidia is named after the Latin ‘invidia’, which means 'envy’. This is also the reason why they use the color green, as in “green with envy”.
YjlZ TIL an Indian farmer discovered he had been declared legally dead when he tried to apply for a bank loan, then spent 19 years trying to prove to the government he was actually alive.
kO1k1 TIL IBM bragged in 1952 that each of their computers were equivalent to having 150 extra engineers with slide rules
1aK0O TIL Meilleurs Ouvriers de France , is an honorary title given to the best Chefs in France, since 1920 only 200 have been awarded, the candidates show high technical skills : Pollack in one dish has to be pierced in four places by Herring Lardons, the latter imparts its saltiness into the Pollack.
E1LMV TIL that “Caligula” was a nickname given to Gaius Caesar as a toddler by his father’s soldiers because he had a little soldier’s outfit, including tiny, hobnailed boots (caligae) such as the infantry wore.