› added 5 years ago

240

TIL At age 30, Dan McLaughlin with no golf experience, quit his job and dedicated to train to be a pro golfer. His philosophy was 10k hours to become an expert, and with the help of psychologists and trainers he was able to get a 2.5 handicap (top 6%), but his back went out at 6k hours and he quit.

Read more theatlantic.com

via reddit.com

woGrE TIL high-level woodwind and brass musicians employ a technique called circular breathing, to be able to play continuously without needing to pause for breath, by blowing air out with their cheeks while inhaling through their nose
e4Z4 TIL a Catholic bishop named Robert Grosseteste described the birth of the Universe in an explosion and the crystallization of matter to form stars and planets in a set of nested spheres around Earth in 1225 AD - 4 centuries before Newton proposed gravity and 7 centuries before the Big Bang theory.
oBrBE TIL one of the reasons the Chinese never fully developed gunpowder weaponry was because their walls could sustain artillery bombardments. Even 20th century artillery guns had trouble piercing their walls.
OVj6 TIL on May 25th 1986, 6.5 million people held hands in a human chain for 15 minutes. This nationwide event, called Hands Across America, was intended to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness. The chain was 4,152 miles long from New York to California.
jNybv TIL Princess Diana was a self-mutilator. She publicly admitted throwing herself down stairs whilst pregnant and cutting herself with razors, penknives, and other kitchen tools because of her torment over her marriage relationship.