› added 11 years ago

84

TIL Xerxes sentenced the sea to 300 lashes for destroying two of his army’s bridges

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kOpP4 TIL A&W tried to sell a 1/3 Pounder to compete with McDonald's 1/4 Pounder but, despite rating better in flavor during blind testing and being priced the same as its rival, the 1/3 Pounder flopped because Americans consistently believed 1/4 was more than 1/3.
YlGr TIL of Snorri Thorfinnsson, the first North American child to be born of European parents (Thorfin Karlsefni and Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir), was born in Vinland around A.D. 1000. He would go on to be an important figure in the Christianisation of Iceland
OoaG1 TIL that we say "redhead" since red was the only relevant color word in Old and Middle English. Oranges arrived in England after 1300 AD and only became a color descriptor after 1540. Carrots arrived in 1530 but were purple and yellow at the time, as orange carrots were only popularized after 1600.
XEMEX TIL when asked who the most famous person in the world is, British children under 10 placed the Queen third, God second, and Simon Cowell number one.
R70Za TIL Crocodiles can jump vertically. The propelling of their tail is strong enough to launch their whole body out of the water.