› added 4 years ago

158

TIL pencils have never had lead in them. Ever. It's always been graphite.

Read more pencils.com

via reddit.com

mxBZy TIL that 'short selling' on Wall Street has a colorful history dating back to 18th century. Notably by Daniel Drew who famously said 'He who sells what isn't his'n, must buy it back or go to pris'n.
nekNW TIL a group gamers sent a port of Super Mario Brothers 3 to Nintendo in hopes of securing a license. Impressed, but uninterested, Nintendo declined but the gamers were so impressed by their work they went on to create their own studio, id Software, which developed Wolfenstein, Quake, and Doom.
v1Ko8 TIL that Astroturf became the common name for Artificial turf after it gained popularity as an alternative to grass in the newly constructed Astrodome in the 1960s.
N7o4b TIL Lucille Ball was so frightened of birds in the house that she refused to stay in hotels that had pictures of birds and tore down expensive Japanese wallpaper in her house that had birds in its design. Her fear of birds dates to when her father died shortly after a bird flew into the family home.
ANWbd TIL that 15 birds would perish at the McCormick Place, the largest convention centre in the US, on a typical evening