› added 10 years ago

157

TIL that Dr. Robert Liston, a Victorian doctor in the pre-anaesthetic days, could perform a leg amputation in under 30 seconds.

Read more mentalfloss.com

via reddit.com

4XMLJ TIL The iconic Slinky toy was created during the development of a device designed to stabalise naval equipment during rough seas. Richard James knocked one of his springs off a bookshelf and it "stepped' down a pile of books.
MeKdK TIL that in 1905 Coca-Cola revealed the secret formula of their beverage to Rabbi Tobias Geffen, on condition that he not divulge it, so that he could determine whether it was kosher. He required a couple of tweeks, but was then able to certify Coca-Cola as kosher.
b6j5Z TIL that Volcanic lightning is a rare phenomenon during eruptions. Ash, gas, and rock particles collide in the air, creating static electricity—like rubbing a balloon on your hair. This charge buildup releases as lightning within the volcanic plume, producing spectacular flashes in the sky.
46LX TIL when executives first saw “A Charlie Brown Christmas” they said, “‘We’ll play it once and that will be all. Good try.” One of the animators stood up in the back of the room—he had had a couple of drinks—and he said, ‘It’s going to run for a hundred years,’ and then fell down.
xVZvw TIL of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small island with 6000 inhabitants in the Gulf of Lawrence, 25 km off the coast of Newfoundland. It's the only remaining part of "New France" that still belongs to France. Inhabitants are French citizens and the euro is it's official currency.