TIL That there is a program called Rigs-to-Reef that transforms old oil rigs into reefs, and that there are over 3800 oil rigs on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.
TIL the word quarantine comes from a seventeenth-century Venetian variant of the Italian quaranta giorni, meaning forty days, the period that all ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague epidemic.
TIL Dippin’ Dots are not widely avaliable because they require storage at -40 F, which is too cold for the average freezer.
TIL in the early 1900s, women used hatpins to fend off sexual harassers in the streets. These pins were so effective in fending off assaulters that legislation was proposed to curb these “accessories to assault.” Men would often come away with wounds that were “not serious, but very painful.”
TIL The Winslows from Family Matters had a 2nd daughter named Judy that went upstairs in Season 4 and was never heard from or acknowledged again.
TIL that almost all animals, from honey bees to African lions, posses the ability to count and use it on a daily basis to survive
TIL The final words of Terry Kath (from the band Chicago) were “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded” whilst playing with guns
TIL If you eat beetroot the body has difficulty in breaking down betalain, the chemical that gives it its red colour. When you go to the toilet chances are your urine will be red/pink in colour and is called beeturia.
TIL in Mexico prison breaking is not illegal. The legal system notes that all citizens have a fundamental desire to be free, so you cannot be punished from attempting to escape jail. If no other laws are broken, those who are caught must only return to jail to complete the rest of their sentence.