› added 4 years ago

77

TIL that the Liberty Bell and Big Ben were made by the same company.

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via reddit.com

v9eL TIL a worm sent into space so that its regenerative powers in zero gravity could be studied grew a second head. When the heads are removed they grow back again.
MeZG8 TIL that Sweden had a chance at Norways oil resources for 40% of Volvo back in the late 70s, but Volvo shareholders believed it was being sold too cheap and declined. Norway oil fund is now over 1 trillion $ and Volvo was sold in 2010 to a Chinese company for 1.8 billion.
9wNPM TIL that the discovery of viruses started from a mysterious disease that affected tobacco crops in the Netherlands at the end of 1800s. A Dutch microbiologist named Beijerinck proved that filtrated sap from plants was still infectious, and called it "contagious, living fluid".
LRYP TIL Bette Midler sued Ford Motor Co in the 1980s for impersonating her voice in a commercial when she refused to take part despite the copyright owner’s consent. This resulted in a new legal precedent that singers’ voices are protected from commercial impersonation.
W7k6d TIL that in 1912, after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, crewmen on its sister ship RMS Olympic went on strike over its small number and poor quality of lifeboats