› added 12 years ago

75

TIL That as a child Ringo Starr had such poor health he was committed to a sanatorium for two years. When he got out at age 13, he was so far behind in school that he never went back.

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Pw8n TIL that LEGO also manufactured “non-brick” wooden toys under BILOfix brand. Their wooden toy factory was burnt down twice: first in the 1940s and second in 1960 when the lightning struck it. After this, the team decided to focus on the production of plastic construction sets instead.
4X7Vb Today I learned of North Dumpling Island in NY, owned by Dean Kamen, creator of the Segway. It has its own currency (the Dumpling) a passport that requires a picture of your face and behind, and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the ministers of Ice Cream.
l7oG1 TIL that overuse of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) can cause spinal cord injury by inactivating vitamin B12. Numbness, weakness, and even sexual dysfunction are common symptoms. Taking B12 preventatively before nitrous use is ineffective as no matter how much B12 is present, it is all ‘turned off’.
e0xL5 TIL that tensions between the US and UK nearly escalated to war over the killing of a pig in 1859. An American farmer on a disputed island found the pig eating potatoes in his garden and shot it, and after the British threatened arrest, the settlers called for help. Both sides sent major forces.
ep6vL TIL many US companies in the late 1800s-1938 would pay their employees in company scrip, a currency issued by the employer and can only be used in company owned stores where they upcharged exorbitant amounts, keeping employees in debt, to ensure company "loyalty."