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TIL almost 100 years before railroads, England’s Bridgewater Canal made it so one horse could pull 30 tons of coal, dropping the fuel price in half. It was so successful that it created a 1770’s “canal mania” starting the Industrial Revolution.

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9wya6 TIL in 1775, 80 year-old Samuel Whittemore ambushed British troops, killing three before charging them with a sword. He was shot in the face, bayoneted 6 times, and clubbed 8 times. Left for dead, he was later found reloading his musket while swearing revenge. He went on to live another 18 years
DQw4v TIL in 1958 singer Ross Bagdasarian began playing with the speed function on a tape recorder, speeding it up to make high pitched voices. Using overdubbing and performing all the voices, he came up with "The Chipmunks" which sold millions that Christmas.
NkKJ TIL that there is a penguin in Japan named LaLa who has his own air conditioned room, wears a backpack and walks freely to the fish market.
Ypydx TIL: Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, the pamphlet that helped gain support for American Independence, was one of the first people to publicly doubt Jesus Christ existed. Prior Christian skeptics simply believed Christ wasn't the son of God.
rRpB0 TIL in 1956, the first modern American mall opened-- the Southdale Shopping Center in Edina, Minnesota. Upon touring, architect Frank Lloyd Wright criticized it "had all the evils of the village street and none of its charm... You should have left downtown downtown." History proved Wright wrong.