› added 11 months ago

61

TIL that the two major political parties/groupings in Victorian Britain used gentlemen's social clubs as their official headquarters, complete with printing presses and mail franking, whilst horse-drawn cabs ferried MPs from the club to Parliament for votes in 8 minutes flat.

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yQm1e TIL in 1961, as the 17th century Swedish war ship Vasa was being lifted from the sea, statue of a runner was found on board, momentarily baffling scientists. It was placed there as prank by Finnish students on their way to party in Stockholm.
4RMJ TIL that a widow of a WWII veteran never learned the exact fate of her husband. After 68 years she found that he was not only buried in France. But that a town in France has been honoring him for the last 68 years.
0wyyv TIL That the modern display of the confederate flag is not what was flown by the majority of soldiers of the Confederate States of America, but is the battle flag of the army of Northern Virginia.
x6Vmg TIL - Hummel figurines were based on the paintings of Berta Hummel, later known as Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Early in life she enrolled in Munich’s famed State School of Applied Arts n art history, life drawing, watercolor and oil painting, and textile design graduating top of her class.
xV1Vb TIL that the Wensleydale Cheese Company came close to shutting down in 1990, and was only saved when Wallace, from “Wallace and Gromit,” named it his favorite brand. The show’s creator, Nick Park, didn’t even know of the company’s struggles, but after joining forces, cheese sales improved rapidly.