› added 9 years ago

199

TIL Alexander the Great held a drinking contest among his soldiers. When it was over, 42 people had died from alcohol poisoning.

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RBMl TIL: A Japanese scientist discovered the jet stream in the 1920s, but it was ignored as he published his findings in esperanto
WZYB TIL the word boycott derived from Charles Boycott, an agent who collected rent from Irish farms on behalf of the British. Farmers demanded rent reductions, Boycott refused and evicted those tenants. Rather than attack Boycott the Irish farmers refused to do business with him at all. Boycotting.
VNkQ TIL that medieval royal courts had professional farters that were rewarded with houses and land. The most famous was Roland the Farter in the 12th Century or Pujol, who could shoot water up to 5 feet.
e84 TIL that the band MGMT has never tweeted, but has 53,000 followers.
g78W TIL Norwegians tried to sell liquor to Indonesia in 1805, but realized upon arrival that they did not drink alcohol. They returned to Norway and opened the casks to find an improved taste due to the sailing conditions. To this day, “Linie Aquavit” must sail an ocean voyage before being sold.