› added 13 years ago

140

TIL… That over 35% of Russians would vote for Stalin if he were still alive.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

XEdW6 TIL that David Byrne of Talking Heads has an Academy Award for composing the score for The Last Emperor
BgZyD TIL - the XF-84H "Thunderscreech" experimental plane had a jet powered supersonic propeller, and it was so loud that ground crews vomited, and it was reported to be heard from 25 miles away
J7DQ TIL that “Weight Watchers is owned by the Heinz corporation. Slim-Fast is owned by Unilever […]. And Nestlé owns Jenny Craig.”
7rYwZ TIL that Norman Mineta’s baseball bat was confiscated when he was sent to a Japanese American internment camp as a boy. As a Congressman, he was sent a $1500 bat, which he had to send back, as it exceeded a price limit on gifts. He was quoted as saying, “The damn government’s taken my bat again.”
YpPlZ TIL that we humans have been dependent since 1977 on the blue blood of horseshoe crabs to keep our medicines safe. The crabs have been 'bled' for a chemical which is used to test for bacterial contamination in drugs. Finally, pharmaceutical companies are committing to a synthetic version.