Post * jNPAN — Curious Curator

› added 8 years ago

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TIL that the original name for gasoline was Cazeline, named after marketer James Cassel. A shopkeeper in Dublin sold counterfeit Cazeline and replaced the “C” in the name with a “G,” thus coining the name “gazeline.”

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pbkA TIL Over 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci made an interesting observation about trees. He concluded that the total thickness of a tree’s branches is equal to the total thickness of the tree trunk. Trees across many species obey this rule. Explanations involve hydrological and structural theories.

BrZox TIL that Chlorine Trifluoride was so dangerous that the Nazis refused to use it. Due to unstableness, the chemical was unfit for weaponisation. The chemical burned at over 2000° C and was able to melt bunkers, tanks, and burn entire cities.

epjxg TIL that cereal company General Mills had an Aeronautical Research Division that produced spy balloons for the American military and the CIA

nbyr TIL the phrase ‘duck’, used in cricket to mean a score of zero, is short for 'duck’s egg’, referring to the shape of the number. 'Goose-egg’ is prevalent in U.S English while the French equivalent 'l'oeuf’ (egg) is the origin of 'love’, meaning zero in tennis.

VBLnZ TIL that Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, daughter and mother in real life, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for the film Rambling Rose, making them the first mother-daughter duo to be nominated for Academy Awards for the same film or in the same year.