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TodayILearned now in Telegram! More channels: @reddit2telegram_bot Chat for ideas: https://telegram.me/r_channels
TIL one of the reasons Target Canada failed was because some items wouldn't fit on the shelves properly. This was due to item dimensions being entered into their system in inches, rather than centimeters.
https://canadianbusiness.com/ideas/the-last-days-of-target-canada/
https://redd.it/1eg6et3
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TIL the youngest world leader in history was King Alfonso XIII, who assumed the position in 1886 at: 0 days old
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_state_leaders_by_age
https://redd.it/1efvgk1
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TIL the Isle of Mann TT - the world's deadliest race - has been happening annually since 1908 and only twice (1982 & 2024) has nobody died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Isle_of_Man_TT_Mountain_Course_fatalities
https://redd.it/1eg5cfy
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TIL When Roman emperor Nero’s wife died, he found a boy named Sporus, a boy who resembled her, had his testicles removed and had him appear in public as his wife.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporus
https://redd.it/1efrsy2
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TIL in 2004, a starquake was detected, which was so powerful that if the star was located within 10 light years of Earth, it would have likely caused a mass extinction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGR_1806%E2%88%9220#Explosion
https://redd.it/1efx0j1
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TIL that the phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson" is never once said in any of the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes#%22Elementary,_my_dear_Watson%22
https://redd.it/1ef4iur
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TIL in the 1870s William Shanks spent 15 years of his life calculating pi to 707 places by hand. However, the last few years were wasted as he made a mistake after the 527th digit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shanks
https://redd.it/1eexgjt
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TIL that in 1567, surgeon Ambroise Pare decided to test whether bezoar stones, which were believed to cure poison, actually worked. He made a deal with a man condemned to death by poison: to give him a bezoar and let him go free if he lived. The man died in agony, proving that bezoars do not work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambroise_Par%C3%A9#Bezoar_stone_experiment
https://redd.it/1eexfei
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TIL in 1989, 20 tonnes of cocaine and $10 million in cash were seized from a warehouse in L.A. At the time, it was the largest drug seizure ever at a single location and it was unguarded with the door secured by a single $6 padlock. In today's money, it'd be worth over $4.7 billion.
https://www.unilad.com/news/sylmar-california-cocaine-bust-1989-six-dollar-padlock-20220818
https://redd.it/1ef2b8i
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TIL of Earl of Oxford. Who farted in front of Queen Elizabeth the First. He was so ashamed that he left the country for seven years.
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Queen-Elizabeth-I/
https://redd.it/1ef8pxr
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TIL In 2017, a Scottish widower launched 2000 messages in bottles in an attempt to find love. He got 50 potential dates, and multiple angry responses from locals and environmental agencies.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-40738484
https://redd.it/1ee7wlq
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TIL in the mid-1800s, a snail spent nearly four years glued to a specimen card in the British Museum before scientists realized it was still alive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eremina_desertorum
https://redd.it/1ee7xd9
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TIL in 2017, Ford Motor Company sued John Cena for selling his all-new Ford GT supercar too soon
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a21622751/the-flip-that-flopped-john-cena-and-ford-settle-gt-resale-lawsuit/
https://redd.it/1eefsjo
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TIL that according to a recent study, 93% of YouTube users skip ads which can only be skipped after viewing the first 5 seconds.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378684037_Is_Scarcity_Effective_An_exploration_of_Ad_Scarcity_Effect_on_Recall_and_Attention
https://redd.it/1eeefnk
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TIL that one company owns Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Sephora, and Princess Yachts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LVMH
https://redd.it/1ed3d4r
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TIL that although equiped with parachutes while on air ambulance missions during WWII, the Flying Nightingales of the WAAF were instructed not to bail out and stay with the patients if their plane was shot down so that they would be on hand to provide medical support should anyone survive the crash
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-33057839.amp
https://redd.it/1efpru0
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TIL ‘River monster’ on Animal Planet ended as the host Jeremy said they’ve run out of monsters to uncover and he has checked off a lot on his list.
https://www.mic.com/articles/176500/why-is-river-monsters-ending-the-reason-season-9-is-the-end-for-host-jeremy-wade
https://redd.it/1efor2q
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TIL that during the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta restaurant The Varsity sold a pin featuring onion rings arranged in the shape of the Olympic rings. The International OIympic Committee felt this was trademark infringement and had the pins banned and confiscated.
https://thevarsity.com/pages/time-line#tl8
https://redd.it/1eg16mu
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TIL the Madison Square Garden company uses facial recognition to keep out enemy lawyers
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madison-square-garden-face-recognition-illegal-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james/
https://redd.it/1efxrk3
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TIL during WWII, the code word for "Hitler" was "Crazy white man" for the Comanche Code Talkers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker#Comanche_code_talkers
https://redd.it/1ef5xzi
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TIL that a rancher in Oregon named Bill Brown would often write checks on any paper available. This often included soup can labels and newspaper margins. As he was rich and known for this, the banks would cash the checks without question.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Brown_(rancher)
https://redd.it/1efbqvh
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TIL your zodiac sign is probably wrong. They were created over 3,000 years ago. The earth’s tilt has changed since then so the constellations appear in completely different positions in the sky.
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/06/why-your-zodiac-sign-is-probably-wrong/
https://redd.it/1ef2kme
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TIL Bill Murray hired an assistant who 'was profoundly deaf and spoke only in sign language' to make communication as difficult as possible between him, the director and the studio during the filming of 'Groundhog Day'
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bill-murray-assistant-deaf-groundhog-day-anecdote-story/
https://redd.it/1efc7mm
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TIL the final line of Willy Wonka was originally written as Grandpa Joe yelling, 'Yippee!' The director hated it so much, he phoned up the screenwriter who was vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods and forced him to come up with a better line right on the spot as they were filming the ending.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka_%26_the_Chocolate_Factory#Writing
https://redd.it/1ef47l5
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TIL about a nun who, bored with monastic life and wanting “carnal” desires, faked her own death to escape, colluding with other nuns and creating a dummy of her that was buried. She was later found in a neighboring town living “indecently.” It’s unknown if she ever returned to the nunnery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Leeds
https://redd.it/1ee765c
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TIL the Wright brothers' father only flew once when he was already 82 years old. The aircraft rose to about 350 feet with the old man encouraging his son "Higher, Orville, higher!"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers#Family_flights
https://redd.it/1eearuh
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TIL in 2009 Nine women were rescued from what they thought was a Big Brother reality show house but turned out to be a criminal organization.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/10/turkey-fake-big-brother-rescue
https://redd.it/1ee73o8
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TIL to keep up with Robin Williams' improvisation on 'Mrs. Doubtfire', director Chris Columbus had to shoot the entire movie with extra cameras to get the other actors' reactions. Two million feet of film were used. Columbus has 972 boxes full of outtakes.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/robin-williams-mrs-doubtfire-improv-2-million-feet-film-1235803608/
https://redd.it/1ee85in
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TIL Arrichion, a pankratiast in the ancient Olympics won a match by using a maneuver which caused his neck to break, killing him instantly. His opponent suffered from a dislocated foot, and submitted. Arrichion was named the winner.
http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TP001EN.html
https://redd.it/1edmslq
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TIL that Yuki Togashi, captain of Japan men's national basketball team, is only 1,68 m (5'6 ft) tall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Togashi
https://redd.it/1edg4ly
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