› added 10 years ago

207

TIL that after Whitehead and Russell proved that 1+1=2 in Principia Mathematica, they commented that it was “occasionally useful”

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74vX TIL that Jim Crow-era “Literacy Tests” were frequently not even legitimate tests of reading skills but instead were a series of incredibly confusing trick questions such as “Print the word vote upside down, but in the correct order.”
NXY7P TIL that American country music singer Lee Greenwood attempted to trademark the term "God Bless the USA." The trademark was rejected since the ordinary consumer would perceive the words at their ordinary meaning rather than as a trademark, which is meant to indicate the source of a product.
5659 TIL JFK may have survived his assassination if it were not for the fact he was wearing a brace for his bad back. Oswald’s first shot hit him in the shoulder and chest, but the brace prevented him from slumping over, allowing Oswald to get a more accurate shot to the head.
DL8D TIL of a 1995 WHO study that stated “occasional cocaine use does not lead to severe or even minor physical or social problems” was never published because the US threatened to withdraw funding from all WHO projects.
xVjLD TIL that higher IQ is associated with greater use of illegal drugs and excessive alcohol intake