› added 12 years ago

83

TIL The “Portland Vase”, a wonder of ancient glass work crafted when Augustus Caesar ruled the Roman Empire, was broken in 1845 by a drunken visitor to the British Museum when he threw a sculpture at it.

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aw6LA TIL Charles Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon, created the Bureau of Investigation for Theodore Roosevelt and recruited himself the 10 first agents, the B.O.I. later became the F.B.I.; he's also been an activist for the rights of black residents of his city.
m1WGo TIL that the forerunner of the bicycle, the Dandy horse, was invented largely as a result of the climatic changes brought about in Europe by the explosion of Mount Tambora (1815), which widespread crop failures which have led to the deaths of thousands of horses, means of transport at the time.
ep6Rk TIL: Never underestimate the wisdom of 50 year old dudes with military experience.
wZ97 TIL A clock’s hands moving ‘clockwise’ was intended to imitate the way the shadow on a sundial in the Northern hemisphere moves during the day.
Y7ydd TIL that much like champagne, the term "haute couture" is strictly protected by France