Alexander Cumming was an inventor and the first person to patent a flush toilet in 1775. Cumming included an s-trap in the design to prevent sewer gasses from entering the building through the toilet. Modern toilets still incorporate this design.
Sooam Biotech, a lab in Korea…
Sooam Biotech, a lab in Korea, makes genetically identical copies — clones — of dogs for pet owners. For $100,000, anyone who has a cell from any dog can get a clone. The lab says it has cloned hundreds of dogs so far. Many are for grieving pet owners, and some are cloned for other agencies.
Arvīds Blūmentāls, a rumored prototype…
Arvīds Blūmentāls, a rumored prototype for Crocodile Dundee and Latvian Baron, deserted the Waffen-SS for the Foreign Legion before relocating to Australia. He hunted 10,000 crocodiles with his bare hands and lived in a hillside dugout so bizarre it was used in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
Mexico has a Ley Seca (no alcohol)…
Mexico has a Ley Seca (no alcohol) tradition during elections to promote peace and order and holds elections on Sunday allowing the most voters to participate without worry of missing school or work.
There were flying cars in 1947…
There were flying cars in 1947. Convair built the Model 118, or ConvAirCar, and flew it several times. It was a normal car that had a detachable wing and propellor assembly that allowed it to fly.
The “Candy bar protest”, also known…
The “Candy bar protest”, also known as “the 5 cent chocolate war”, “the 5 cent war”, and “the chocolate candy bar strike”, was a short-lived 1947 protest by Canadian children over the increase in price of chocolate bars from five to eight cents.
As the children marched, they sang:
We want a 5 cent chocolate bar
8 cents is going too darn far
We want a 5 cent chocolate bar
Oh, we want a 5 cent bar.
Internet Memes are now used in ways…
Internet Memes are now used in ways formerly used in leaflet propaganda. Targeted Internet memes “hack” people’s attention and aid in sewing discord. Memes do this by utilizing classic psychological warfare tactics, such as those used in propaganda via analogue leaflets.
Eight elderly Belgian nuns sold their convent…
Eight elderly Belgian nuns sold their convent without permission from the church for $1.4 mil. They used the money to buy a castle in France, racehorses, and a number of luxury cars including a Mercedes with a bar.
Putting spaces between written words…
Putting spaces between written words wasn’t a thing until the 7th Century and didn’t become popular in Europe for another few hundred years (Romanauthorsthoughtyoucouldjustfigureitoutfromcontext).
Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s…
Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, was adopted when he was just 6 weeks old. His adoptive mother died when he was 5, and he was abused by his adoptive father. Hoping he could find better matches for other children in the future, he founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992.