› added 5 years ago

224

TIL that expensive prizes at events-- like winning a car for sinking a full-court shot at a basketball game, winning $1,000,000 for a hole-in-one, etc.-- are usually paid for by insurance companies. "Hole-in-one insurance" is an insurance policy that protects against someone winning a huge prize.

Read more investopedia.com

via reddit.com

Z84XB TIL The Nutcracker ballet was originally a commercial failure, it only gained popularity in the late 1960s. Currently most American ballet companies generate 40% of their annual revenue from it.
XEd7X TIL of an experimental treatment for tinnitus: bimodal neuromodulation, electrical stimulation of the tongue paired with sounds. Pairing zaps with sounds seems to rewire brain circuits connected with tinnitus. The theory is to make an auditory system more hyperactive to everything but the tinnitus.
4XY8g TIL In 1985, Ricky Gervais's failed new wave band became a sensation in the Philippines after a radio station played one of their songs, with the song becoming a staple at high-school dances in the Philippines.
Wk1P9 TIL ancient swords from 'Damascus' (Syria) dipped in 'Dragon's Blood,' as legend has it, were studied by scientists who further dipped the metal, 'wootz,' in hydrochloric acid to reveal, under an electron-microscope, nano-metre-sized tubes with a microstructure similar to modern carbon nanotubes.
PYkLw TIL about Queen Sunada kumariratana, a queen consort of Siam, who died with her daughter by drowning despite the presence of many witnesses. they were forbidden on pain of death to touch the queen, not even to save her life.