Submitted by Bralbany t3_z35y7i
/f/todayilearned
Submitted by Darkprophet67 t3_z688dt
TIL Tom Seaver was named on 425 out of 430 ballots for the Baseball Hall of Fame. 3 were blank as a protest against Pete Rose being ineligible. One was sent by a writer recovering from surgery who did not notice Seaver's name and one never voted for any player in their first year of eligibility.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by trifletruffles t3_z7z0ft
TIL about the Glass Armonica, a musical instrument invented by Ben Franklin. Inspired by playing glass cups, bowls were mounted on a rotating spindle allowing a musician with wet fingers to play music. Mozart and Beethoven wrote for it but after 60 years strange rumors spread and it fell out of use.
fi.eduSubmitted by marmorset t3_zd83bs
TIL John von Newmann was a child prodigy who could divide 8-digit numbers in his head by age 6. By age 8, he was fluent in Ancient Greek, had mastered calculus and would amuse his parents' friends by reciting book pages after just glancing at them. He also developed the modern computer architecture.
atomicheritage.orgSubmitted by HumanNutrStudent t3_zeutdf
TIL in a 2009 episode, Michael Schumacher appeared on BBC's Top Gear as the Stig. Jeremy Clarkson hinted that Schumacher was not the regular Stig which was later confirmed by BBC. Schumacher was there because Ferrari would not allow anyone else to drive the Ferrari FXX featured in the show.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by trifletruffles t3_zgxz0c
TIL that despite no written rule banning elite women from playing football with a men's team, in 2004, Fifa stopped Mexican club Atlético Celaya from signing female player Maribel Dominguez, stating that “there must be a clear separation between men's and women's football.”
wired.co.ukSubmitted by AstamanyanaQ t3_zp4l26
TIL The first man to report a rogue wave was Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1826, d'Urville was then publicly ridiculed because such a wave was believed impossible. A rogue wave was not measured until 1995 and the lack of earlier reporting is likely due to few wooden ships surving the encounter.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by jamescookenotthatone t3_zqmv45
TIL when Frank Zappa was a kid, he always played with mercury that his father brought home from work, often covering his entire bedroom floor with the element. Childhood exposure to mercury is known to increase the risk of prostate cancer as an adult. Frank Zappa died from prostate cancer at age 52.
faroutmagazine.co.ukSubmitted by waitingforthesun92 t3_zqwsom
TIL the U.S. Department of Defense spent $41.6 million on Viagra and $84.24 million total on drugs for erectile dysfunction in 2014. Less than 10% of prescriptions were for troops, the rest went to retirees or family members covered by military health plans.
cbsnews.comSubmitted by DioriteLover t3_zt2s24
TIL that a dump truck caused a New York City elevated freeway to collapse in 1973. The truck was found to have been 9 tons overloaded and the company operating it was blamed. The contract to clean up the results of the failure was subsequently awarded to the same company.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by iAmAddicted2R_ddit t3_zusp5k
TIL two gifted college students considered themselves so superior they planned “the perfect murder” to prove their intellectual abilities. After murdering a child, despite their purported genius, they left plenty of evidence and were swiftly caught and brought to judgment.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by EdLoweLaw t3_zzdic3
TIL that when Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, journalist Giovanna Chirri was the first to break the news as she was the only one to understand Latin. She recalls: "He said it in Latin and I was panicking. I was short of breath, my legs were trembling, it was a reaction to shock."
catholicnewsagency.comSubmitted by lechattueur t3_zzs900