› added 11 years ago

88

TIL that today is the 100 year anniversary the first woman to parachute from an airplane. She was also the first person to free-fall (jump without a static line), and is credited for the term ‘rip cord’ when she got tangled during a static line jump and had to cut herself free during a jump.

Read more parachutehistory.com

via reddit.com

a84aA TIL about Andy Bowen a lightweight boxer who in 1893 fought in the longest boxing match against Jack Burke. The fight lasted 110 rounds which is around 7 hours and 19 minutes and it was reported that spectators fell asleep in their seats during the bout. The fight ended in a 'no contest'.
9rWM TIL living in poverty causes a reduction in cognitive ability due to mental and emotional strain equivalent to losing 13 IQ points
98mB TIL that the top hat was so controversial that, when a man first wore it out in public in 1797, he was arrested for disturbing the peace.
QVre TIL Aaron Swartz, a tech whiz-kid and political activist, tried to liberate almost 5 million restricted articles and $50,000 worth of text books to the public, but ended up facing $1m and 35 years in jail, which ultimately drove him to hang himself.
b9ylQ TIL Tony Iommi lost the tips of his right middle- and ring-fingers in an industrial accident, leading him to down-tune the strings to ease playing and bending, thus contributing to Black Sabbath's unique, heavy metal sound