› added 1 year ago

83

TIL that during the Mexican-American War, General Gideon Pillow ordered the dirt excavated from a ditch to be piled on the wrong side.

Read more muse.jhu.edu

via reddit.com

bEEN TIL: In the Olympics of 67 A.D., Emperor Nero competed in the 4-horse chariot races with a 10-horse team, only to be thrown from his chariot. He didn’t finish the race but he was still proclaimed the winner on the grounds that he would have won had he been able to complete the race.
xVLXb TIL in 1991, the little plastic ball in cans of Guinness won the Queens Award for Technological Advancement, beating the Internet and Email.
xVVOD TIL that Paul McCartney admitted that the Beatles were all in on the elaborate 'Paul is Dead' hoax as a backup plan in the event that their albums didn't sell.
xV9d0 TIL Sarah Cummins & her fiancé canceled their wedding yet were left with catering for 170; so she invited local shelters for the meal, including bourbon-glazed meatballs, chicken with artichokes & Chardonnay cream sauce, & wedding cake. The community donated dresses & sport coats for guests to wear.
jNndj TIL that hummingbirds burn up to 12,000 calories per day, about six times more than a fully grown average human male.