› added 11 years ago

98

TIL, After a face injury during a hockey game, Jacques Plante wore one of the first goaltender mask, against his coach orders. The Canadian won the game and went on an unbeaten streak of 18 games. His coach then forced him to stop wearing the mask and they lost.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

9RkB TIL asking someone their Chinese zodiac is considered a polite way to learn their age
v1JvD TIL that in feudal Japan, merchants were at/near the bottom of the social hierarchy because they didn't produce goods. Artisans were a step above them because they produced non-essential goods and peasants were above artisans because they produced food.
LxMd TIL: Before medical science discovered how the circulatory system functioned, people believed that a vein ran directly from the fourth finger on the left hand to the heart. This is why people wear their wedding ring on this finger.
oMeE TIL that 6 of the most famous speeches in history; Eisenhower’s “military–industrial complex”, JFK’s “ask not what your country can do”, “we choose to go to the moon”, Mandela’s “I am prepared to die”, JFK’s “ich bin ein Berliner”, and MLK’s “I have a dream” were made within 2 years of each other.
j6ymM TIL that Cher Ami, a pigeon, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for her brave service in World War I. Despite being shot, blind in one eye, and severely injured, he successfully delivered an S.O.S. message for an encircled battalion.