› added 7 years ago

473

TIL the phrase "souped up" predated automobiles and was actually a reference to injecting horses with steroids to improve their performance.

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gjAW TIL that in order to popularize potatoes in France, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier placed armed guards around his potato fields, instructing the guards to accept all bribes and allow people to “steal” the crop.
x6DYk TIL after spending 3 days with his arm trapped in a furnace, a man attempted to amputate it with a saw blade because he began to smell rotting flesh. Although he passed out from pain before he could completely sever it. He was rescued after a friend called for help when he hadn't shown up for work.
P9RZ TIL that Joe Pesci released an entire album where he sings as Vinny from My Cousin Vinny.
W7bpL Today I learned that in the 2000's, the people in charge of Sesame Street's budget wanted the show to have 25 episodes per season, but the show's staff insisted upon doing 26 episodes per season so that each letter of the alphabet would be the letter of the day for one episode.
ggE4 TIL that in 2002, Boeing delivered a 767 aircraft to China for use as President Jiang’s “Air Force One.” Chinese test pilots discovered a reported 20-30 extremely sophisticated surveillance devices embedded into sensitive areas of the plane, including the Presidential bedroom.