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TIL in 2009 a couple from UK started a facebook campaign to make Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” the #1 Christmas single. The song sold 500,000 copies beating the 4 year run of X-factor winners. All proceeds went to homeless charities. More in comments.

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gMnaX TIL the Japanese bullet train system is equipped with a network of sensitive seismometers. On March 11, 2011, one of the seismometers detected an 8.9 magnitude earthquake 12 seconds before it hit and sent a stop signal to 33 trains. As a result, only one bullet train derailed that day.
OGnwe TIL That in 1840s Australia, there was a rumor about a European women held against her will by the Kurnai people. For two years, the native people of the area were hunted, with a boy being captured. After arranging a meeting, the natives arrived with a statue; the figurehead from the ship, Britannia
OMP6 TIL In the 1912 Olympics, Duke Kahanamoku was favored to win 100m freestyle swim. When he overslept, missing the prelims. Cecil Healy of Australia refused to swim in final unless Duke was allowed to swim special qualifier. The judges relented; Healy’s sportsmanship cost him the gold.
OGZO7 TIL a schoolteacher once got a kidney transplant where the donor was a chimpanzee. The teacher lived for nine months and in the autopsy, the chimp kidneys looked perfectly fine without any signs of rejection.
AjXB TIL if you pay $400, the Better Business Bureau will give you an A rating