› added 11 years ago

170

TIL that the popsicle was invented by an 11-year-old kid.

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via reddit.com

PJZO TIL Shell sold “No Pest Strips” that were highly carcinogenic, even causing one death. They eventually pulled it off the U.S. market and sold it in Mexico so they could still make money. Shell executive: “Speaking as a human being, sure you feel bad. But I’m not being paid to be a human being.”
yVNxe TIL that Louis Coulon de Villiers was the only commander to make George Washington surrender, having defeated Washington at the Battle of Fort Necessity in 1754.
D6gV TIL the earliest known vending machine dates back to first-century AD Greece. Hero of Alexandria, a Greek engineer and mathematician created a machine that accepted a coin and then dispensed holy water.
1aGg4 TIL during Napoleon's return from Elba, a Parisian paper printed headlines along the lines of: "Mar 9: The Monster has left his den. Mar 10: The Ogre has landed. Mar 13: The Tyrant has passed through Lyon. Mar 22: Yesterday evening His Majesty the Emperor made his entry and arrived at Paris."
VMkM0 TIL that the rule of thumb “half your age plus seven” was in earlier sources understood as a formula to calculate the ideal age for the bride, instead of a lower limit for the suitable age.