› added 10 years ago

194

TIL that during the cholera epidemic in the 19th century ‘safety coffins’ were developed because of people’s fear of being buried alive

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WkyoL TIL Saddam Hussein kept a plaque that said "Three Whom God Should Not Have Created: Persians, Jews, and Flies" on his desk.
GYNeJ TIL Spain’s S-80 submarine program designed subs that were 70 tonnes too heavy, and likely sink when submerged. Cost overruns to fix it are expected to reach $9 billion. The problem was traced back to an engineer misplacing a decimal point, and had been called the most expensive math error ever.
7R97 TIL Chess Masters and Grand Masters often supplement their incomes by teaching via Skype.
6Zpm TIL rock&roll pioneer Ritchie Valens had a fear of flying due to a freak accident where two airplanes collided over his school’s playground, killing or injuring many of his friends. He got over this fear due to the demands of his career and subsequently died in a plane crash at the age of 17.
4wL6 TIL the top speed of the Bugatti Veyron is limited not by the engine, but rather its tires exploding.