› added 7 years ago

200

TIL Two brothers once sold a fake Goya painting for €1.5 million, only to later find out that all the money was counterfeit

Read more news.artnet.com

via ift.tt

Rep4 TIL that a captive beluga whale learned how to speak rudimentary English after 7 years in captivity; it was only known after a diver visiting his tank at night heard voices telling him to “get out” when no one else was in sight, it was actually the beluga whale.
nJ6o TIL that in Toy Biz v. United States, the manufacturing division for Marvel successfully argued in a court of law that mutants are “nonhuman creatures” to get around higher tariffs on toys depicting humans.
8aQ9b TIL due to a typo, the Japanese company Mizuho Securities tried to sell 610,000 shares for a yen each (less than a penny) instead of 1 share for 610,000 yen (around $5,000). Despite three separate attempts to cancel it, the Tokyo Stock Exchange processed it anyway, costing the company $225 million.
VMQyD TIL A meteor travelling over central Italy in AD 312 brought Constatine closer to the Christian faith. Today that meteor can be found at Cratere del Sirente in central Italy. The carbon dating proves to be around the time Constatine saw it and had his vision.
W7dl9 TIL: In the past, coin purses showed social status by the embroidery and quality. Men would even gift their new bride a purse embroidered with a love story. Both men and women had coin purses or purses for thousands of years dating back to 3300 BC until pockets were invented for men in the 1700s.