› added 2 years ago

133

TIL that the original job of the coroner was to collect the revenues of the English Crown - legal fines, buried treasure, shipwrecks, and the like. This included the seized estates of suicide victims and murderers, and over time the office of coroner evolved into the modern function.

Read more csidixie.org

via reddit.com

LkYbP TIL that the Soviets were more instrumental to Japan's surrender than the Nuclear fucking Bomb and we probably didn't have to drop it.
d8VKQ TIL that Singapore has been physically growing its borders for years by literally importing sand from other countries. Since independence, Singapore has increased its physical landmass by more than 20% already resulting in the complete disappearance of 24 islands in the Indonesian archipelago.
b9GN TIL that the Haskell opera house & Library straddles the border of the US and Canada. The audience sits in the US to watch a show on a stage which is actually in Canada. The front door is in the US and the books are in Canada.
x6A6g TIL about the submarine USS R-14, who in during a rescue mission in 1921 had its fuel contaminated with seawater, cause the loss of battery power and radio communication. Its crew were able to make the 161 mile return trip to homeport by creating sails out of hammocks and blankets.
69EdQ TIL U.S. songwriter Billy Davis rewrote a UK jingle for the Coca-Cola Company. The song 'Buy the World A Coke' was rewritten again because people kept calling radio stations asking for the tune to be played. It subsequently became "I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing" and reached #13 on Billboard.