› added 3 years ago

130

TIL in 1979 students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison planted 1008 plastic flamingos across campus. Ever since, Madison has embraced plastic flamingos; they are their soccer team's mascot and are even the city's official bird.

Read more wisconsinhistory.org

via reddit.com

69XyZ TIL the first artificial ice rinks were made using hog's lard and salts
VMO44 TIL In 1912, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo invented a chess-playing machine that could solve a king and rook vs king endgame. It didn't always deliver mate in the fewest number of moves, nor always within the 50-move rule limit but it would checkmate the opponent every time.
xVwd0 TIL talk-show host Stephen Colbert half-jokingly ran for US President in the 2008 election. He stated that he would only he run if he received a sign, which came when Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, appeared on his show and gave him a replica of the the sword, 'Anduril'.
ADWKw TIL In a rip current, death by drowning occurs when a person has limited water skills and panics, or when a swimmer persists in trying to swim to shore against a strong rip current, thus eventually becoming exhausted and unable to stay afloat. Usually swimmers can exit by swimming at a right angle
0wrBA TIL Disney desperately tried to buy a 58-acre strawberry field right next to Disneyland for decades, but the owner – an elderly Japanese man – refused every single offer (including $32 million). When asked why, he explained: "I just want to stay here and farm."