› added 4 months ago

20

TIL of Timothy Dexter - a barely literate American businessman, who was desperate for public office, and became wealthy through a series of improbable investments.

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WWoX TIL Chrysler offered Bruce Springsteen $12 million to use “Born in the U.S.A.” in an ad campaign. Springsteen turned them down and has still never let his music be used to sell products.
X0MP6 TIL that Gillette assisted the U.S. Army in military intelligence by producing copies of German razor blades for secret agents venturing behind German lines, also manufactured razors that concealed money and escape maps in their handles, and magnetic double-edge blades that can be used as a compass.
d897j TIL Ballooning is a process by which spiderlings and even some species of adult spiders move through the air by releasing one or more gossamer threads from their spinnerets to catch the wind becoming airborne sometimes for long distances and great heights at the mercy of air and electric currents.
kJeO5 TIL of Stephen Hawking's reply to Einstein's famous quote "God does not play". He replied "Not only does God play dice but he sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can't be seen."
d8RWr TIL: Words in songs are called lyrics because in ancient Greece poems used to be accompanied by a lyre