› added 10 years ago

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TIL the stock market got the names “bear and bull” because of caballeros in California. The caballeros put California grizzlies in battle with bulls. They observed bears swiped downward and bulls hooked upward, thus lending the analogy. This also helped lead to the California grizzly’s extinction.

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9YXgD TIL that during Napoleon's exile on Saint Helena, no ship could leave the island until the governor laid eyes on him to make sure he doesn't escape. Napoleon sometimes hid just to cause problems to ships trying to leave the harbour
KJnQ TIL An electron differs from a perfect sphere by less than 0.000000000000000000000000001 of a centimeter – so that “if the electron were magnified to the size of the solar system, it would still appear spherical within the width of a human hair.”
kO0RB TIL it took Pixar almost 3 years of research to perfect Merida’s curly hair for their 2012 film Brave. They spent two months working on a scene where Merida removes her hood and the full volume of her hair is finally revealed.
KYQnG TIL In 2003, two men stole & flew a Boeing 727-223 parked at the Luanda International Airport (in Angola) and neither of them was qualified to fly the plane. The plane & the men are missing to date.
4BNX TIL every baseball used in the MLB since the 1950s has been treated with “rubbing mud” that is gathered from a secret location by the Bintliff family. The mud is used to help remove the slick finish on the ball and give the pitcher more grip.