› added 6 years ago

277

TIL The water speed record is one of the deadliest competitions with an 85% fatality rate. The current record of 317 MPH was set in 1978 by an Australian, Ken Warby, using a vessel built in his backyard with an engine purchased for $69.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

mwOy TIL that in 1999 an Iraqi refugee fled to Australia and lived off their welfare system. Years later after he became successful, he walked into the local welfare office and tried to pay back every cent with an $18,000 check.
wL7MJ TIL Charles "Old Hoss " Radbourn, an MLB pitcher from 1880 to 1891, won 60 games in a single season and is believed to be the first person ever photographed "flipping the bird".
nLJG TIL Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shot and killed his parents and two siblings after being denied his choice of bride. He shot himself and survived the next three days in a coma, during which he reigned as King.
WkDmL TIL that Lehman Brother before going bankrupt paid its CEO nearly half a billion dollars in total compensation from 1993 to 2007, and fired him in 2008 only after declaring bankruptcy.
mGmM TIL there is a Formula 1 driver who cannot drive in his home country without an adult present.