› added 5 years ago

153

TIL the "Hogwarts Express" rescued a family caught by a flood in the Scottish Highlands. Faced with a 3-mile walk in a bog for kids aged 6, 8, 10 & 12, the father called for help; police had the next train pick them up called the Jacobite, which happened to be the train from Harry Potter movies.

Read more bbc.com

via reddit.com

4XaVb TIL Kaiser Wilhelm II drew up plans to invade the United States in 1897. The plan called for an attack on Boston and New York in order to neuter American power in the Pacific.
dWvB TIL in 1976, Steve Jobs offered Atari founder Nolan Bushnell a 30% stake in Apple if Bushnell would put $50,000 towards the company. He said no. “It’s kind of fun to think about that, when I’m not crying.”
x6p17 TIL that the 401(k) retirement plan was created as a tax shelter for rich executives. Before its introduction, companies would create deferred savings accounts for executives so to avoid paying taxes, but the government caught on and formalized the rules as the 401k.
QJYPk TIL A roman consul was told before a crucial battle with Carthage that the auguries suggested he shouldn't go to battle, since the chicken didn't eat that day. Wishing to do it any way, he proclaimed "lets see if they will drink", and had the sacred chickens drowned. He fought and lost the battle
4XB4w TIL that in the 1964 movie A Distant Trumpet, many of the Navajo Native America went off script and would joke around in their language. No one bothered to translate what they said until the 2009 documentary Reel Injun did just that.