› added 10 years ago

55

TIL that at age 9, Ron McNair, the African-American astronaut later killed in the Challenger explosion in 1986, refused to leave a segregated public library after the librarian rejected his request to check out some books. The police were called, as was his mother.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

j6MdQ TIL Nose blindness (also known as “olfactory adaptation,” or “olfactory fatigue”) causes your brain to let go of certain smells, like the one of your own house! Not being able to smell your body odor or your regular perfume is also an example of olfactory adaptation or nose blindness.
xpxb TIL of a banker in a small Florida town who encouraged people to buy shares of Coke during the Depression and now the town has “secret Coke millionaires”
dKjr TIL Scratching your ankle feels as good as sex. Scientists have discovered the ankle is the most satisfying spot to scratch.
9YaaD TIL, the arcade shooter Area 51 saved Atari from the brink of bankruptcy and went on to become one of the most successful arcade games of all time
8a0lX TIL In the USA, if you receive merchandise that you never ordered, be it unsolicited or in excess of an order, you have the legal right to keep the merchandise as a free gift. Furthermore, you have no legal obligation to notify the seller.