› added 9 years ago

194

TIL two nearly identical men with the same name were the reason that fingerprinting was invented

Read more collectivelifestyle.com

via reddit.com

oBWDo TIL The Stubborn Children Law (repealed in 1973) enacted by Massachusetts Bay Colony (1646), Connecticut (1650), Rhode Island (1668), and New Hampshire (1679), allowed a disobedient son "of sufficient years and understanding" (at least 16) to be put to death.
Y70PP TIL Early home radios were referred to as BC capable, meaning Broadcast Channels. BC was AM signals, but AM was not a common reference until FM radios came along and they had to distinguish between them. Much like early records were never called 78s until after 33s and 45s came along.
9aym TIL: The UV index was invented by three Environment Canada scientists in 1992, making Canada the first country to measure the strength of UV rays. The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the index in 1994, making it a global standard. The UV index celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
LQvMp TIL that a "gentlemen's agreement" was reached among the major motorcycle manufacturers to limit the speed of their motorcycles to 300 km/h (186 mph) for fear of import bans against high speed motorcycles in Europe.
Vywk TIL baseball player Gates Brown snuck hot dogs into the dugout during a game. Before he could eat them, he was called upon to pinch hit so he stuffed them into his jersey. He ended up having to slide into second base causing ketchup and mustard to smear all over his jersey leading to a $100 fine.