› added 11 years ago

94

TIL that sideburns are named after American Civil War General, General Burnside.

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NAgQ TIL a German court recently ruled that men have a right to pee standing (be a ‘stehpinkler’ as against a 'sitzpinkler’) and that landlords cannot expect to be compensated for the resulting damages to the bathroom floor.
R7rP9 TIL Somali Pirates at one point had an investment firm. That’s right; you could invest in the Somali Pirates, and receive a cut of their loot if their plunder was successful.
Br81b TIL: In 1943 Winston Churchill called upon Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 to allow the English Navy to lease ports in neutral Portugal. This gave England access to the Azores Islands and helped change the Battle of the Atlantic.
4k1lJ TIL in the 1970’s, a shipment company was denied a loan needed to keep the company afloat so the owner took their last $5,000 to Vegas. Playing Blackjack, Fred Smith ended up with $25,000, which was enough to cover the fuel bill and keep FedEx going for another week.
M7D9K TIL that Macchu Piccu, the Incan citadel in Peru, is not ancient. It's only about 600 years old, the same age as many European Renaissance buildings.