› added 7 years ago

150

TIL Nicolas Cage once ate mushrooms with his cat. Nic Cage told David Letterman in an interview that his cat once ate some mushrooms that he accidentally left out. Cage decided the only sociable thing to do was to partake as well and join his cat on its "trip."

aP09 TIL that British power companies have to be ready for the usage surge caused by Brits simultaneously turning on their electric kettles to make tea during commercial breaks in popular TV shows.
XE1EX TIL that ergot poisoning, which has effects similar to LSD, is thought to be responsible for both causing the Salem Witch Trials and also influencing a number of Renaissance paintings.
m1OkY TIL FBI agents visiting the loan shark and murderer Sam DeStefano to question him, would be served special blend of coffee with an unusual taste. After they discovered this was caused by DeStefano urinating in the beverages, one agent was never able to drink coffee again.
N7Goe TIL The 1971 Coca-Cola ad ā€˜I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)’ featured a group of young multicultural people lip-synching the song on a hill to represent global unity. The South African government requested a version of the ad but without the black actors. Coca Cola refused
Oo8pa TIL Xerxes built two pontoon bridges over the Dardanelles strait to move his troops into Macedonia. When a storm destroyed the bridges, Xerxes had the builders beheaded and sent his army to whip, yell at, and brand the waters. The bridges were never rebuilt. Xerxes later lost the war with Macedonia.