› added 1 month ago

8

TIL that “genericide” is the legal term for when a brand loses its trademark because the name becomes too common. Famous examples include “escalator,” “aspirin,” and “thermos.”

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8Ab TIL That Dr. Seuss’ name is actually pronounced to rhyme with ‘voice’
wK5J TIL that the microwave oven was discovered by accident by an engineer working on radar technology during WWII. While he was standing in front of an active radar in a laboratory, the candybar in his pocket started to melt. He then tried to pop popcorn kernels with the radar to prove his idea.
5Y0aD TIL Isaac Newton wrote thousands of pages on his interpretation of the Bible, and in those manuscripts he predicted that the world would end no sooner than the year 2060.
0wv1R TIL there will be five new sports debuting in the 2020 Summer Olympics: Skateboarding, Rock climbing, Surfing, Baseball/Softball, and Karate
GAgd4 TIL railroad gauges are approximately the same width as old Roman Chariots but that it is largely coincidence and the original gauge of 4’ 8-1/2” was established by a man from the 1820s, who used the gauge because it was common from roads in the area.