› added 12 years ago

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TIL The vikings used a stone to be able to tell what direction the sun was in, even when the sun wasn’t visible, and we may have found one.

nelZo TIL why coins have ridges on the sides... Criminals in the 1700s saw they could make a good profit by filing shavings from the sides of gold and silver coins. Today’s coins contain no precious metals but, you’ll still find those ridges to make them distinguishable for visually impaired people.
gr0Ay TIL that the hagfish is the only known vertebrate animal with a skull but no spine. Instead it has separate bone sections in its back that function as a spine. They're also capable of absorbing nutrients from the surrounding water directly through their skin.
wLvGW TIL In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter debated, marking the first time in US history that a president had agreed to debate and only the second time that any televised debates had been held. The sound system failed, leaving Ford and Carter standing in silence for nearly half an hour
QJ7kk TIL of an 18th century racehorse named Potoooooooo, originally named Potato by his owner. A stable boy was instructed to write the horses' name on a feed bin, which he spelled Potoooooooo (Pot-8-Os). The owner was so amused that he adopted the spelling. Potoooooooo amassed 34 wins over 7 years.
xY7o TIL Steve McQueen’s infidelity saved his life. He was supposed to attend the dinner party where the Manson family murdered Sharon Tate and others, but skipped it after he “ran into a chickie”.