› added 9 years ago

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TIL when the Titanic wireless operator got a message from a nearby ship saying they were surrounded by ice … he responded “Shut up, shut up, I am busy …” … and hit the iceberg 45 minutes later

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W7MLA TIL because of the low humidity due to high elevation in Denver, the Colorado Rockies baseball team started using a humidor to store baseballs in 2002, after which they found that home runs and other stats became more in line with the rest of the league
nWVN9 TIL During WW2, the Japanese Navy developed the "San Shiki" anti-aircraft shell. Weighing 3000lb and 18 inches wide, it was to be fired from Battleships and when exploded, created a 5m long flame burning at 3000 Celsius for enemy planes to fly through.
NoZ8 TIL that there are no professional female sumo wrestlers because professional sumo wrestling bans women from competitions and ceremonies. Women are not allowed to enter or touch the sumo wrestling ring (dohyō), as this is traditionally seen to be a violation of the purity of the dohyō.
EM80 TIL that all white tigers are the result of inbreeding and have no conservational value since they don’t exist in the wild and are not a separate species.
mxpVR TIL that the large crowd that had gathered for the first execution by guillotine was greatly upset by the "clinical" nature of the device and its swiftness. They wanted a longer execution for more entertainment.