› added 9 years ago

269

TIL that Boeing used to use ferrets to carry wires to inaccessible places on aircraft

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via reddit.com

BgBnd TIL an analysis of Beethoven's hair found high levels of lead, arsenic & mercury. The high amount of lead in particular likely contributed to his deafness. One lock of hair had 380 micrograms per gram & a second one had 258 micrograms. A normal level of lead is around 4 micrograms or less per gram.
mxboY TIL in 1941 the British and Soviet Union invaded Iran. This was to secure a supply line to Russia, secure the Iranian oil fields, and deny Nazi Germany a route of advance to Baku and British India.
rRrwe TIL Mayonnaise is the most frequently purchased condiment in the US, beating ketchup by $1.2 billion annual revenue.
x6NYg TIL: Antarctica & Iceland are the only places on earth with no mosquitos.
KxmB TIL In 1998, a NY couple, Donald and Mildred Othmer, bequeathed $800 million to various institutions. Donald was a professor, Mildred a former teacher, they had no children and lived modestly. But back in the 60s, they invested their savings with an old family friend from Omaha, Warren Buffet.