› added 11 years ago

184

TIL slaves in America in 1850 cost the equivalent of ~$40,000. The going rate today is $90.

Read more business.blogs.cnn.com

via reddit.com

5VMWk TIL Ferdinand Verbiest created the first vehicle which moved under its own power in 1672 as an amusement for the Chinese Emperor Kangxi. The steam vehicle was 2 ft in length and built like a five-wheeled cart-like trolley
9wpym TIL The oil doesn't exist underground in caverns that would otherwise be empty if it wasn't for the oil. Instead of thinking of large empty pockets, think of a wet sponge, where the sponge is rock and it's "wet" with oil.
YBDB TIL that 80% of black smokers smoke menthols
yVyPp TIL switzerland has a "marriage penalty" that leaves married, childless couples in a financial disadvantage
QJ4aL TIL that the official divorce complaint of Mary Louise Bell, wife of world-famous physicist Richard Feynman, was that "He begins working calculus problems in his head as soon as he awakens. He did calculus while driving in his car, while sitting in the living room, and while lying in bed at night."