› added 8 years ago

139

TIL In 1720, stock speculation caused the value of shares for the South Sea Company to jump from£128 in January to £1000 in August. When the bubble burst, it financially ruined their investors. One investor, Sir Isaac Newton lost £20,000, equivalent to about £268 million in present day value.

Read more thebubblebubble.com

via reddit.com

awyGb TIL Jerry Lewis never wore the same pair of socks twice. He would wear two or three brand-new pairs of sweat socks every day, going through up to 1000 pairs a year since the early 1950s. They were inexpensive and he paid retail. After wearing them once they were donated to orphanages or boys' homes.
JY108 TIL The Netherlands, which fits into the U.S. more than 200 times and has a population density higher than Rhode Island, is the world's second largest food exporter.
R75lw National Geographic Fellow Jer Thorp explains the process behind designing "We Were Once Strangers Too," an award-winning public data sculpture that highlighted the role of immigrants in New York City.
P1g0O TIL Feral pigeons are descendants of domestic pigeons. The domestication of all modern pigeons goes back 5,000-10,000 years!
a87o TIL - After Mao grabbed power in China there were so many suicides in Shanghai that people were afraid to walk near skyscrapers for fear that suicides might land on them.