› added 5 years ago

114

TIL That actor Kirk Douglas once tried to commit suicide after his stroke, by shooting himself through the mouth. However, the gun hit a tooth, and it hurt so much that he stopped completely. He was then so amused that toothache had stopped him from killing himself, that he decided to live.

Read more parade.com

via reddit.com

ADZYg TIL that three original transcripts of the minutes of the 1431 trial of Joan of Arc still exist.
VM81Q TIL Between 1935-44, William Boeing and his wife set aside land outside Seattle city limits for subdivision and placed covenants to enforce segregation, forbidding properties from being "sold, conveyed, rented, or leased in whole or in part to any person not of the White or Caucasian race."
GADlE TIL if you fill your lungs with 100% oxygen you can safely go ~8 minutes without breathing
BryLK TIL the Haya People of Tanzania have been forging steel for over 2000 years. Investigation of their land led to the discovery of ancient furnaces that were then carbon dated and found to be around 2000 years old.
p8RAb TIL that children with the chromosomal abnormality William's syndrome are known to present with well developed verbal skills, extreme friendliness, and elf-like features.