› added 6 years ago

447

TIL the loudest undistorted sound possible on earth is 194 decibels. Above that threshold the sound waves become shockwaves.

Read more waitbutwhy.com

via reddit.com

erjJ TIL that Nobel Prize laureate William Shockley, who invented a transistor, also proposed that individuals with IQs below 100 be paid to undergo voluntary sterilization
6EgXw TIL that in 1975, Australia had a government shutdown over their budget. The Prime Minister and all of Parliament was fired, forcing them to restart from scratch. They haven't had a shutdown since.
Ym9P TIL that during the famous Chernobyl Disaster only 31 people actually died at the event. Most of the deaths happened later as a result of the radiation.
R7ZMw TIL Many German households own a device designed to neatly cut a hole into a soft boiled egg, called an "Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher," literally "eggshell breaking point causer".
prP4 TIL a 62-foot Jesus statue built by a megachurch was struck by lightning and subsequently burned.