› added 3 years ago

83

TIL about the plunge for distance, a short-lived olympic swim event where competitors jumped from the edge of the pool and floated motionless as far as possible. It was criticized as "not an athletic event at all" since competitors "merely throw themselves heavily into the water and float along".

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

grdk4 TIL In the 18th century, there was a practice in England known as "wife-selling." This unusual custom involved a man publicly auctioning off his wife to the highest bidder, often in a marketplace or a tavern. It was sometimes seen as a humorous way to escape an unhappy marriage.
MeelV The key is in surface moisture.
a8G19 TIL In 2009, a Chinese man jumped into a panda enclosure to retrieve his son's toy. As the panda came rushing at him, he attempted to escape. However, bystanders urged him to stand his ground, thinking the panda was harmless. The panda bit the man on both legs, resulting in a lot of blood loss.
mKZO TIL that after Wernher von Braun’s first V2 rocket was used in combat, he was quoted as saying “the rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet”.
WrvX TIL a Catholic Priest in Brazil tried to raise money for charity by taking to the sky strapped to a chair and 1,000 helium balloons, got to 20,000 feet and then realized he didn’t know how to use his GPS, went missing, and two months later was found dead 100km out to sea.