› added 4 years ago

159

TIL that all cacti are native to the New World, or the Americas. Only one species now grows natively on the Atlantic's other side as well. It's a type of mistletoe cactus and is found in Africa and Sri Lanka, thought to have been introduced by traders or birds.

eJJ4 TIL when Three Six Mafia beat out Dolly Parton to win the 2006 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Dolly was thrilled, and personally sent a congratulatory letter, “We’re proud of you guys, and I’m just glad that the Oscar came back to Tennessee one way or another!”
rajd TIL Dr. John Osborne, the first democratic governor of Wyoming, wore shoes he made of human skin to his inauguration. He removed the skin from the body of an executed train robber. He also made a doctor’s bag and coin purse. He gave the top of the skull to his 15 year old assistant as a souvenir.
Y7DEx TIL that the WR for deepest scuba dive (332.35 m set by Ahmed Gabr in 2014) is highly controversial and likely faked, as there are far too many discrepancies in the provided proof for the dive, some of which could easily have killed him had he actually dived to that depth
xm10 TIL Robert Emmet Odlum made a habit of jumping off bridges in the 1800’s to prove to people that they won’t die from falling, as it was commonly thought that one would not be able to breathe as they fell through the air.
JK9j TIL that after Samuel L. Jackson agrees to star in “Snakes on a Plane”, producers tried to change the title but did not because Jackson agreed to do the film based on the title alone.