› added 2 years ago

128

TIL: A wealthy stock trader was sentenced in 2017 after a man he hired to dig a secret tunnel to a nuclear bunker died a fiery death. He made him wear blackout glasses, spoofed the wifi, and lowers a bucket for his tunnel guy to relieve himself for days at a time to keep the location secret.

Read more wpde.com

via reddit.com

kJgEd TIL Martin Scorsese is a huge admirer of Polish cinema from the 50's and 60's and often shows his favorite classic Polish films to actors and even executives before working with them. Scorsese has an honorary doctorate from a Polish university and made a list of his 21 favorite Polish movies.
16E4d TIL that several filmmakers documented the construction of the Gateway Arch in hopes that the legs wouldn’t meet. To insert the keystone, firehoses had to cool the arch due to thermal expansion and the legs had to be hydraulically jacked apart.
YpgRx TIL that the phrase "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" came from the practice of saloons offering a free lunch to patrons purchasing at least one drink. Lunch consisted of salty finger-foods, encouraging the drinking of more beer.
b9L6N TIL that the same engineer who was responsible for adding lead (TEL) to gasoline was also responsible for the widespread use of CFCs as refrigerants. The same person was responsible for two of the worst air pollutants of the twentieth century.
VBMo8 TIL 19th century Londoners too poor to afford beds would rent boxes to sleep in. Those who couldn't afford the box would instead rent a rope, strung out wall-to-wall, and sleep with their torso hanging over it