› added 5 years ago

105

TIL about the 18th century folk song Maggie May. A prostitute in Liverpool who robs sailors after spending the night with them, Maggie is eventually caught and sent to the Botany Bay penal colony in Australia. It's possible the song's story is of a real woman, Nellie Ray, a prostitute and thief.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

e0G7L TIL Capt. Joe Hazelwood, responsible for the Exxon Valdez disaster that spilled 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound and cost $7B to clean, was only found guilty of a misdemeanor (negligent discharge of oil), and was fined $50,000, and sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service.
OoZp7 TIL Nintendo Power had a comic mascot named Nester that progressively grew up and eventually had a son during magazine's run. In the last issue his son states, "You're kind of sad to see it end, but really proud and happy too. You know what I see when I look at this final issue? 100% completion."
E1JNX TIL that when a dead whale washed up on an Oregon beach, they decided the best way to dispose of the body was to detonate it, unintentionally covering the townspeople in whale blood.
p8JJA TIL of a man who retired at 61 and becames a perpetual hiker. Over 15 years he walked over 34,000 miles (55,000 KM). He became the first known person to hike the entire Appalachian Range in North America, from Newfoundland to the Keys and more and more.
vQxR TIL: A Detroit man is incredibly good at winning carnival games. In fact, he has won nearly 250,000 large stuffed animals in his lifetime… and donated them all to various charities.