› added 2 days ago

1

TIL the first New Year’s Eve ‘ball drop’ in Times Square (1907) was made of iron and wood, weighed 700 pounds, and was designed by the guy who invented the modern fireworks display.

Read more smithsonianmag.com

via reddit.com

e8DD TIL in a letter called the Ashtiname, Muhammad called on followers of Islam to protect Christians “in any place they may dwell.” Violators would be regarded as having “despised [God’s] Religion, and made himself deserving of His Curse, whether he is a Sultan or any other believer of Islam.”
4dow TIL in the 70’s gay men used a complex system of color-coded handkerchiefs to tell other gay men what kind of sex they were seeking. Depending on color and the pocket it was sticking out of, they described what you were willing to do and whether you were a top or bottom.
8nvL TIL wet hay or grass can spontaneously combust when left in piles
nWgab TIL In the band Peaches & Herb there has been one Herb and seven Peaches
R5lZl TIL that pilots can choose to re-land a plane halfway through the runway if they aren't happy with the landing.