/f/todayilearned
TIL "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" is an example of an impossible task. The idiom dates at least to 1834, from the Workingman's Advocate: "It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by meat-juice t3_11gbneo
TIL: On January 5, 2002, Charles J. Bishop stole a Cessna 172 light aircraft and crashed it into the side of the bank of America tower. His mother filed a lawsuit against Roche Laboratories claiming that Accutane had side effects such as depression and suicidal actions.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by deadflowers1 t3_11w9rpr
Submitted by TheMadhopper t3_11g66mc
TIL of the Bolvano Train Disaster which claimed the lives of more than 500 people in 1944. After the train became stalled in a tunnel, the passengers and crew succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning when the locomotives attempted to continue and filled the tunnel with smoke.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by MorsOmnibusCommunis t3_121pqvz
TIL that the 'funny bone' is not actually a bone in the arm, but a nerve. The ulnar nerve is connected from shoulder to hand and is protected by bones and muscles. As it passes thru the elbow it is only protected by the cubital tunnel, making it the most prone area in the body to 'strike a nerve'.
webmd.comSubmitted by deddPan t3_11xvao6
TIL that just a few days after surviving the sinking of the Titanic, actress Dorothy Gibson starred in a silent motion picture short about the disaster called "Saved from the Titanic". Gibson even wore the same clothes she wore the night of the sinking to add to the films authenticity.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by PresLyndonBJohnson36 t3_1266gzf
TIL that Chick-fil-A started in 1961, after founder S. Truett Cathy found a fryer that cooked chicken as quickly as a fast food burger. Chick-fil-A licensed the sandwich to 50 restaurants, including Waffle House, until 1967, when the first standalone Chick-fil-A was opened.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by jdward01 t3_124syp5
Submitted by sammer003 t3_122yd14
TIL over the course of his 23 published adventures, Herge's Tintin was knocked unconscious 43 times. Between 1929 and 1973, he was hit with a rake, a brick, a whisky bottle, an oar, a giant apple, a camel femur, a block of ice, and countless punches and clubs.
theglobeandmail.comSubmitted by morerubberstamps t3_126p83d