› added 6 years ago

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TIL About Bartolomeu Portugues, a Buccaneer Who Established the First Rules of the Pirate Code. Held Prisoner On a Spanish Ship, He Escaped Thru Over 120 Miles of Jungle After Swimming to Shore Using Wine Jars For Floaties Because He Couldn't Swim. He Came Back and Stole the Ship That Arrested Him.

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wLxgW TIL the rise of disposable cups came in the early 20th century to stop the outbreak of communicable disease spread by the practice of sharing water dippers and communal cups in public places. Because the cups are meant for a single person to use and discard, people started to call them 'solo' cups.
GYpyE TIL in 1929 the Empire State Building added a 222-foot “dirigible mooring mast”, where parked airships could offload passengers to the tip of the tallest building in the world.
VBgj4 TIL in 2010 a local beekeeper found their bees producing an obnoxious-tasting red honey, due to the bees foraging on the waste of a local cherry juice factory (which contained Red No. 40) and on sweet-tasting antifreeze from a nearby bus service depot.
D16RV TIL that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was within months of completing a several mile section of expressway only to cancel the project. Bridges were built, guardrails installed, and funding dried up. They seeded the right of way to prevent erosion and allowed farm animals to graze.
m1JnO TIL there are no bridges across the Amazon River