› added 5 years ago

103

TIL citizens of the Dutch city Zwolle are colloquially known as Bluefingers due to the 1682 sale of the town church's bells to the town of Kampen. After finding the bells too damaged for use, Kampen paid Zwolle entirely in pennies; fingers in Zwolle turned blue after counting so much change.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

5VQyR TIL that when "Blackmail" premiered in 1929 as the first British film with sound and dialogue, two years after American sound films hit British theaters, it was promoted with the tagline "See and Hear it! Our mother tongue as it should be spoken!"
bbbN TIL it is illegal in many countries to perform surgical procedures on an octopus without anesthesia due to their intelligence
xQZo TIL that when confronted by police, a man took his pit bull off the leash, pointed at the cops and yelled “Kill’em boy, kill’em.” The dog responded by biting him in the butt and chasing him into a nearby apartment where the officers promptly arrested him.
BXZL TIL that astronauts must have good airflow around them when they sleep, otherwise they, “…could wake up oxygen-deprived and gasping for air, because a bubble of their own exhaled carbon dioxide had formed around their heads.”
gMNkD TIL about how in 2008 during the macy's thankgiving day parade, during the final performance of the "foster's home for imaginary friends" float the pre-planned musical number, the music was cut, only for Rick Asltey to come out and perform "Never Gonna Give You Up" live