› added 7 years ago

91

TIL of Lee Lorch a mathematician blacklisted in the 50s by most US universities for his civil rights activism. Before his death in 2014 he was asked if he would have done anything any differently. "More and better of the same," he replied.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

p8eve TIL of Charles Vance Millar, a Toronto lawyer who died in 1926 with no relatives. In his will, he left all his remaining assets (equivalent to $9 million CAD) to the woman who had the most babies within 10 years of his death, creating a "baby race" where woman competed to have the most babies.
DplV TIL that The ruins of the ancient city of Petra lay hidden until 1812, when a Swiss explorer stumbled upon them in modern-day Jordan. The man walked through the dark gorge for 1.2 kilometers. Suddenly, he laid eyes on a magnificent scene.
6EWvY TIL about New Zealand's first tank, the Bob Semple tank. It used corrugated iron armor on a tractor base, with 6 machine guns as armament. After public ridicule, Bob Semple stood by his design, saying "I don’t see anyone else coming up with any better ideas."
xWdg TIL: At a church gathering in 1870, a bishop said, “Man has invented everything that can be invented.” Someone challenged it, “I think man will learn to fly.” Bishop called it Blasphemy, “Flight is reserved for birds and angels”. That bishop was Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville.
QJLOX TIL Jackie Coogan, the silent film child actor who was famously exploited by his parents for his earnings, found renewed screen success later in life playing Uncle Fester on the Addams Family