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TIL Howard Hughes once refused to leave a hotel room in Las Vegas. Instead of leaving, he decided to purchase the entire hotel. Hughes then expanded his holdings in the city, became the largest employer in Nevada, and was thought to be largely responsible for the modern transformation of Las Vegas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes#Real_estate
https://redd.it/1eny75a
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TIL that Svetlana Savitskaya, the second woman in space, arrived at Mir (modular space station) in 1982, where she was greeted with an apron as a welcome present, and jokingly told to get to work in the kitchen by her fellow cosmonauts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Savitskaya
https://redd.it/1eob2wu
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TIL in 1973, José Luis de Jesús Miranda claimed to be the Messiah and started a church that reportedly gained 2 million followers in 30 countries. After a divorce, $46,000 in gambling debt, and claiming he was the Antichrist, he died August 8, 2013. His church denies the death and still carries on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Luis_de_Jes%C3%BAs
https://redd.it/1enef8t
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TIL that in 4 states (California, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.) there is no minimum age limit for getting married.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage_in_the_United_States
https://redd.it/1en9rxl
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TIL A New Ligament in the Human Knee was Discovered in 2013
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-24826323.amp
https://redd.it/1enb98r
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TIL that in the early days of Fed-Ex, there was one time the company couldn't afford the fuel bill for their planes, so the founder took the company's last $5,000 and went to Las Vegas and won $27,000 playing blackjack, and kept the company afloat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_W._Smith#Business_career
https://redd.it/1enfmst
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TIL Seoul 1988 was the first Olympics to have condoms distributed, with a supply of 8500 with increases ever since. However there is no research evidence that athletes competing in the Olympics would be more likely to seek out casual sex
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/2.7171/rio-condoms-record-1.3693294
https://redd.it/1en9gvt
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TIL that the bowler hat is the most popular headgears being worn by cowboys and outlaws alike in the Wild West, and it wasn't until the 1920s that the ten gallon hat was popularised by Hollywood.
https://www.hatterist.com/blog/blog-post-title-cowboy-hat-history
https://redd.it/1eml0w0
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TIL Bridesmaids traditionally wear almost the exact same thing as the bride to confuse bandits and evil spirits who wish to harm her
https://www.rd.com/article/history-of-bridesmaids-weddings/
https://redd.it/1emb7u7
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TIL Jeff Koons' studio resembles an art factory. He doesn't do the sculpting or much of the painting in his artwork. It's his ideas & standards but artisans do the labor. In 2019, his stainless steel inflatable rabbit resold for $91 million; highest ever paid at auction for a work by a living artist
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeff-koons-lengthy-art-process-60-minutes-2023-05-21/
https://redd.it/1em8jnk
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TIL that the Christian portrayal of the fruit that Eve ate as an apple may come down to a Latin pun. Eve ate a “mālum” (apple) and also took in “malum” (evil). There’s no Biblical evidence that the fruit was an apple.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_the_knowledge_of_good_and_evil
https://redd.it/1emjavv
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TIL that the current world record holder for men's marathon died at age 24.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_Kiptum
https://redd.it/1emm4pu
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TIL because of naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as boats rather than as ships, regardless of their size.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine
https://redd.it/1elf2f7
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TIL Orville Wright's final flight was in a plane whose wingspan exceeded the length of his original flight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation#Records
https://redd.it/1elg87i
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TIL In the span of less than 1 year, both President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned from office for separate reasons
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vice-president-agnew-resigns
https://redd.it/1elpb2y
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TIL that, in US politics, Republicans have been consistently “red” and Democrats “blue” only since the 2000 election; The New York Times made the choice because "red begins with r, Republican begins with r[.]"
https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/6/3609534/republicans-red-democrats-blue-why-election
https://redd.it/1eobzjg
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TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the offer of battle. Trial by combat was abolished the following year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashford_v_Thornton
https://redd.it/1eo7hfo
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TIL the first reference of the phrase 'May the fourth be with you' being used was on May 4, 1979, the day after Margaret Thatcher was elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Day
https://redd.it/1en4408
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TIL the mangaka Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon) is married to another famous manga author Yoshihiro Togashi (Hunter x Hunter and Yu Yu Hakusho)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naoko_Takeuchi
https://redd.it/1enfewd
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TIL the Allies fielded thousands of tanks by the end of World War I, a major technological breakthrough. The Germans deployed just 18.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_in_World_War_I
https://redd.it/1enc8hu
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TIL that in 2020, Burger King ran an advertising campaign featuring a picture of a moldy Whopper, to prove that their burgers are made without preservatives. This unconventional advertising method worked, increasing sales by 14% (according to multiple sources.)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/20/burger-kings-moldy-whopper-ad-is-dividing-marketing-experts.html
https://redd.it/1end4nk
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TIL The Golden Poison Frog found in the Amazon rain forest, is the most poisonous animal on the planet.They are so toxic that they have few (if any) predators. The indigenous tribes use the toxin for hunting. Secretions from a single frog could kill two bull elephants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_poison_frog#:~:text=The%20golden%20poison%20frog%20has,animal%20species%20on%20the%20planet.
https://redd.it/1emp75f
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TIL In a 2022 survey by FlexJobs, 45% of remote workers reported saving at least $5,000 annually and one in 5 remote workers estimated saving $10,000 a year.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/10/16/americans-save-money-by-working-from-home/71140252007/
https://redd.it/1emgr11
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TIL that the “ninja killer” Temujin Kensu supposedly shot someone 400 miles away by scheduling a private plane at 2 am, flying to the murder scene, then flying back leaving no trace
https://www.michigandaily.com/statement/why-is-it-so-essential-that-i-die-in-here-what-i-learned-visiting-ninja-killer-temujin-kensu-in-prison-hes-innocent/
https://redd.it/1emh0i2
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TIL 18th Century Norwegian swashbuckler Peter Tordenskjold once ran out of ammo during a sea battle so he sent his enemy a letter thanking him for "a fine duel" and asking him to send more ammo so they could carry on. The two crews then toasted each other's health and went their separate ways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tordenskjold#Court-martial
https://redd.it/1emmgcw
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TIL some ultramarathoners get their toenails surgically removed because they don't want to contend with constantly bruised, ingrown and lost toenails.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/you-wont-believe-what-extreme-runners-are-doing-to-their-toenails/article9545613/
https://redd.it/1emepij
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TIL Douglas Adams came up with the idea for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy while lying drunk in a field holding a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe.
https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/hitchhikers-history.htm#pt1
https://redd.it/1elvvrh
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TIL over 20 million people were killed in Chinese Islamic insurgency in 1860s and 1870s under Qing dysnasty, one province lost 14 million and the neighboring province 6 million
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungan_Revolt_(1862%E2%80%931877)
https://redd.it/1elclkg
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TIL Coal baron James Dunsmuir envisioned a medieval castle for his retirement and built Hatley Castle. It was like a small city on Vancouver Island with over 100 residents and servants in 1911. None of his children could afford the $1,500 monthly upkeep so it was sold at $260,000
https://www.royalroads.ca/news/origin-hatley-castle
https://redd.it/1els9fw
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TIL that in 1983, scientists created a machine that temporarily allowed people to see new colors outside of the regular color space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_color#Colors_outside_physical_color_space
https://redd.it/1eleb36
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