› added 11 years ago

199

TIL:47 percent of Detroiters are ”functionally illiterate.”

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via reddit.com

16kpW TIL about Prototaxites: giant tree-like fungi that lived over 350 million years ago with heights reaching more than 20ft (6.5+m) tall.
nW4Q9 TIL: Henry Ford introduced the $5 work day in 1914, doubling his avg employees wages overnight and investing $10m of profits back into his employees coining the term "profit sharing" which helped launch the American middle class and was seen as "an honest wage for an honest days work."
7l1r TIL the phrase “winging it” refers to actors struggling through parts that they have recently learned in the wings of a theatre before each scene
pYxZN TIL that the word "commonwealth" is is an English transliteration of Latin "respublica" which in turn is the root word of the word "republic", as well as the Polish transliterated "Rzeczpospolita"
wMm8 TIL Chuck Yeager - first pilot to exceed Mach 1 - was shot down over France in WW2, taught bomb-making to Resistance groups who helped him, escaped into Spain, argued the high command into letting him back into combat against regulations, then became an Ace (bringing down 5 enemy aircraft) in 1 day.