› added 13 years ago

136

TIL that HSBC was actually founded by and for drug trafficers bringing opium into China

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

OorMg TIL That during a skit Paul Hogan joked about attaching $10 to his tax return to get his refund quicker. That year the ATO had around 7,000 returns come in with a $10 note attached.
6EdX8 TIL If humans keep fishing at the current pace, there will be no more fish left in the oceans by 2048: The existing world fishing fleet is two to three times larger than the oceans can support and 85 percent of the world’s fish populations are either nearly extinct or on the way to extinction.
wovP1 TIL: The Thule incident- Only 3 of the 4 nuclear weapons were ever recovered after the B52 crash.
wLEYW TIL that between 1972 and 1996, every winner of the Kentucky Derby, and most winners of the the Triple Crown, descended from a single stud named "Bonnie Scotland". Notable progeny include Man-O-War, Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Secretariat, California Chrome and, most recently, Justify.
XEn4k TIL that Edison used Bamboo filaments supplied by his assistant from Kyoto until he developed Tungsten filament and the shrine hosts a 'light festival' complete with lit bamboo lanterns and the American anthem to honor this exchange