133 words TIL that in ancient Egyptian religion, monotheism arose as the creator god Amun became part of a unified trinity with the gods Ptah and Re. "All gods are three: Amun, Re and Ptah, whom none equals. He who hides his name as Amun, he appears to the face as Re, his body is Ptah."
188 words TIL After crashing, a driver in German was fined for using Tesla touchscreen wiper controls, under the same rules as using a phone while driving. The German court decided touchscreen car controls should be treated as a distracting electronic device
155 words TIL Billy Joel got into an argument with a younger man about what the worst era to be young in was. The younger man told Joel that at least he got to grow up in the 50s when "nothing happened." Flabbergasted, Joel began listing the events of the 50s, which later became "We Didn't Start the Fire"
250 words TIL that Robert Wang, inventor of the Instant Pot reads every review of his product. When one customer commented that it would be nice if it could make yogurt, he created a new model that could do that, then sent the reviewer the new model as a thank you. He still reads every review.
130 words TIL that the most common national holiday around the world is independence from the British.
231 words TIL that when emperor Hui of Jin ( 259-307) was informed that his people were starving from a rice famine, he replied with the famous chinese version of let them eat cake: "why don't they eat meat porridge?"
164 words TIL that Ring was on Shark Tank and walked away without a deal. Ring later sold to Amazon for $1 billion.
229 words TIL of the Skyfall missile - a nuclear-powered cruise missile intended to cruise indefinitely, all the while spewing radioactive exhaust.
218 words TIL that cheese is the most stolen food in the world. 4% of global cheese supply is stolen every year
163 words TIL only 14.5% of adult men are 6’0 and over, but comprise 58% of Fortune 500 CEOs. Only 3.9% are 6’2+, but comprise 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs.
240 words TIL about Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to serve during the American War of Independence. Shot in the thigh, she removed the bullet herself with a penknife and needle, to keep her identity secret.
266 words TIL only 14.5% of adult men are 6’0 and over, but comprise 58% of Fortune 500 CEOs. Only 3.9% are 6’2+, but comprise 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs.
223 words TIL deep-water fish get the bends when they are reeled in too fast. Sports fishermen unintentionally kill millions of fish each year due to the condition called barotrauma.
378 words TIL that Majel Barrett, the voice of the Starfleet computer on Star Trek, recorded an entire library of phonetic sounds before she died which allowed her voice to be used as the computer for future generations.
179 words TIL: Tobacco companies spend the most money on advertising during the month of January, when more people will be attempting to quit smoking, as New Year’s resolutions.
116 words TIL If the Earth were 50 percent bigger in diameter, no amount of engineering in the universe would get a rocket all the way to orbit; there would simply be too much gravity for any design or any chemical propellant to overcome.
160 words TIL South Park co-creator Trey Parker begged his show's executive producer not to air one South Park episode because he was afraid it would ruin South Park. That episode was "Make Love, Not Warcraft" which received critical acclaim and earned a Primetime Emmy Award.
128 words TIL that a dysregulation in ADHD brains makes them skew toward having a second wind of energy and more interest in activities in the evening. Delayed melatonin production then results in later bedtimes and difficulty rising early.
1,398 words TIL that eight years after JFK’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy avoided the public unveiling of their White House portraits, but the Nixons graciously agreed to a secret, private tour for her and her kids. It was her only return visit.
167 words TIL the only two countries on the planet that make it illegal to pass a stopped and loading/unloading school bus are US and Canada