› added 7 years ago

60

TIL when telephones first came into commercial use you had to whistle loudly into the receiver to get the other person's attention, as telephone bells hadn't been invented yet.

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E1dK0 TIL that pharaoh Tutankhamun was buried with a dagger from space. The dagger was forged from meteorite, proving early metal - working in egypt.
BrnVd TIL at the UK State Opening of Parliament, Yeomen of the Guards (Queen's Bodyguards) still check underneath the House of Lords for traces of Gunpowder. It is a tradition that dates back to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Once they get the all clear they have a ceremonial glass of whiskey
pYdZp TIL the 7-Eleven convenience store's name dates to 1946, to reflect the stores' new 7 am to 11 pm hours of operation, which were unprecedented at the time.
LkXA0 TIL that when casting Oliwia Dabrowska as 'The Girl In the Red Coat' in Schindler's List, Steve Spielberg asked her not to watch the film until she eighteen. She watched it when she turned eleven and was horrified.
gr6nX TIL The bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Little Boy) converted only about 0.7 grams of mass to energy. This is roughly 1/3 the mass of a dime.