› added 6 years ago

75

TIL that there is a German word, verschlimmbessern, to define the act of making something worse in a failed attempt to improve a situation, e.g. trying to dislodge a ball stuck in a tree by throwing another ball at it - which subsequently also gets stuck.

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ZOjB TIL that Bill Watterson, the creator of “Calvin and Hobbes” came off a 20 year hiatus from drawing comics to illustrate 3 comics for “Pearls Before Swine.” The originals went on to sell for $74,090 for Parkinson’s disease.
YpN17 TIL banknotes in Scotland are unique. They are one of the only banknotes in the world to be issued by retail banks. Every banknote issued must be backed by an equivalent Bank of England note or Gold. Scottish banknotes are not legal tender.
4X0PR TIL Royal Bank of Canada has a program that draws students for a summer-long challenge to develop solutions to real-world business problems, like detecting sophisticated cyber bots. The bank files patents to protect the technology and use students' innovation in their business
nWxJd TIL That Marie Antoinette’s scandalous fashion choice of wearing lingerie as outerwear directly instigated a dramatic rise in American slavery.
4bEw TIL that C.S. Lewis entered a civil marriage with a woman so she could avoid deportation. Then, after she developed terminal cancer, they eventually fell in love and re-married while she was in the hospital. They were married for three years before she passed away.