› added 6 years ago

61

TIL about John Harrison, a self-taught, working class carpenter and clockmaker. He invented the maritime chronometer, which finally made sea travel safe and reliable.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

B0Ox TIL Johnny Carson never talked to close colleague Joan Rivers again after she got her own show, and actively sought to sink her career.
omor TIL This guy - Don Rawitsch invented Oregon Trail in 1971, and he’s looking for a job. I believe he deserves some reddit exposure.
E18lP TIL you’re supposed to flush your water heater every 6 months to avoid calcification and hardening of sediments at the bottom forcing you to replace the water heater if it’s neglected.
ANamn TIL that the "drink 8 glasses of water a day" is based on a 1945 recommendation that had no medical basis. The current recommendation is "drink when you are thirsty, unless you are outside on a hot day or are elderly- then drink a bit more."
KOdY9 TIL Abraham Lincoln, prior to becoming President, was an avid boater and traveled on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers where his boat often got stuck on sandbars. In 1849 Lincoln invented a method for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals, making him the first and only U.S. President to receive a patent.