› added 8 months ago

43

TIL that "hello" is a relatively new word. The first time we have it in writing is 1826

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

YpLgW TIL when President Polk asked Congress to declare war on Mexico citing that it had "shed American blood upon the American soil", then-Representative Abraham Lincoln protested with resolutions demanding to know the "particular spot of soil on which the blood of our citizens was so shed."
xEwB TIL: A California anti-crime law had the unintended effect of pushing the most violent criminals to Nevada and Arizona
vWE4 TIL the US tried to make cat guided bombs during WWII to hit enemy ships. The hope was that the cat would see the ship as “dry land” and steer the bomb to the target, in an effort to avoid getting wet. The project was abandoned because the cats would lose consciousness in the low G conditions.
OG0bY TIL in 2009 a 1400 year old Hoard was found in England with 11 pounds of gold. One piece was inscribed with a Bible verse translated as, “let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee." (Numbers 10:35)
JYAKk TIL that in 1942 the song "Deep in the Heart of Texas" was banned by BBC during working hours on the grounds that its infectious melody might cause wartime factory-hands to neglect their tools while they clapped in time with the song.