› added 13 years ago

116

TIL that Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by Indian mathematicians

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yQlae TIL that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were friends, turned bitter rivals, then friends again. Both died on the same day 5 hours apart.
worn1 TIL the first female detective in the US, Kate Warne, foiled at assassination attempt against President Lincoln when she was 23
QJrQk TIL David Wallerstein originated the notion of ‘Supersizing’ in 1967. Theater patrons were reluctant to order a second portion of popcorn for fear of appearing gluttonous. So he created an extra-large portion for less than the cost of two singles. Later hired by McD's he sold Ray Kroc on the idea
woEY TIL the FBI hired an informer to supply terrorists with fake bomb powder in the lead up to the 1993 WTC bombing, but the plan was called off and real explosives ended up being used. The informer passionately maintained that the attack could’ve been prevented.
gMyEW TIL that software bugs in a radiation therapy machine were responsible for killing 3 people with high doses of radiation