› added 10 years ago

169

TIL that Stephen Hawking’s wife was given the option to take him off of life support after he was placed in a medically induced coma. She refused, and upon recovering he finished writing ‘A Brief History of Time’

Read more timesofindia.indiatimes.com

via reddit.com

xr45 TIL Killer bees were created in an attempt to breed tamer and more manageable bees. This was done by crossing a european honey bee and an african bee, but instead the offspring became more aggressive and highly defensive bees that had escaped into the wild
WkAlX TIL the "fly" in a pair of trousers refers to the flap of clothing covering the opening, and not the zipper itself. For tailors, a fly is any flap of clothing that covers an opening in a garment.
16rod TIL: That Gretel Bergmann, a German Jewish athlete, was banned from the Berlin Olympics despite matching the German high jump record. Two weeks before the Olympics, she received a letter from the German sports authorities stating she was being removed from the national team for under-performance.
Merd8 TIL Showman and businessman PT Barnum was frustrated with how long people lingered in his museum’s exhibits. He posted signs that said 'This Way to the Egress'. He knew most of the visitors would follow them not knowing 'Egress' meant 'Exit'. They couldn’t re-enter without paying the entry fee again
grMGD TIL that the term “fast fashion” was first coined by the New York Times in the 1990s to describe the rise of the now popular clothing store, ZARA. At the time, it only took 15 days for an idea for a product to make it into stores.