› added 8 months ago

23

TIL Roller Coasters were invented in 1884 to save Americans from Satanic temptations, following the uprise of saloons and brothels.

Read more smithsonianmag.com

via reddit.com

yXaV TIL that in WW2 an American pilot fell over 20,000 feet and survived by falling through the glass roof of a train station.
wLBYW TIL that the Prince hit “Purple Rain” was actually recorded in front of an audience at a charity event and that guitarist Wendy Melvoin was only 19 at the time and playing the song live for the very first time.
e0Kdb TIL the Cryptex, the cylindrical combination vaults that hold secret messages, made famous in The Da Vinci Code, is a neologism completely invented by Dan Brown and has no historical connection to a real device of the sort.
xVyEg TIL of Hy-Brasil, a phantom island said to lie in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland. Irish myths described it as cloaked in mist except for one day every seven years when it becomes visible. It is listed on several early maps, but still cannot be reached.
YMgr TIL the entire coastline of California is a National Monument, promising permanent conservation and ensuring there will not be new oil drilling within 12 nautical miles of the mainland.