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TodayILearned now in Telegram! More channels: @reddit2telegram_bot Chat for ideas: https://telegram.me/r_channels
Today I learned that the Parthenon had a roof until the Venetians blew it up in 1687.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/parthenon/time-nf.html#:~:text=1687&text=Eventually%2C%20gunpowder%20the%20Turks%20had,killing%20up%20to%20300%20people
https://redd.it/1eszwws
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TIL: Banks in Finland stopped issuing cheques in 1993, The Netherlands in 2002 and Denmark in 2017.
https://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/06/why-cant-americans-ditch-checks/
https://redd.it/1esujt4
@r_til
TIL the common consensus of drinking 8 glasses of water a day to remain hydrated was based on a 1945 claim with no medical evidence.
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-nutrition/water-myth
https://redd.it/1essnmc
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TIL: Queen frontman Freddie Mercury left his London estate to his ex-girlfriend, who put it up for sale at $38 million
https://www.elledecor.com/celebrity-style/a60046769/freddie-mercury-london-house-for-sale/
https://redd.it/1et62lb
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TIL at the decisive Battle of Grandson in 1476, the entire Castle Grandson garrison surrendered only to be summarily hung from a rope and dragged through the lake until they drowned. They were executed just before Swiss reinforcements arrived.
https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2020/06/the-battle-of-grandson/
https://redd.it/1ertzfm
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TIL Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and many other children's books) also invented a cerebral shunt that has been used to treat thousands of children with brain injuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wade-Dahl-Till_valve
https://redd.it/1erzp5l
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TIL about the Spanish composer Enrique Granados who basically lived out the real life version of the end of Titanic when a ship he was on was torpedoed by a German submarine and his wife couldn't fit on the life raft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Granados#Death
https://redd.it/1es7top
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TIL the children of 8 time Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt are named Olympia Lightning Bolt, Thunder Bolt and Saint Leo Bolt respectively.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt#Family
https://redd.it/1ery4ff
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TIL that on the day he was assassinated at least nine of Kennedy’s Secret Service agents were recovering from an all night bender that ended at 5:00 AM
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/jfk-secret-service-agents-too-hungover-to-react.amp
https://redd.it/1esdj1f
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TIL that British judges and lawyers wear white wigs to bring formality, solemnity, and anonymity to the courtroom
https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/national-traditions/why-british-lawyers-barristers-wear-wigs.htm
https://redd.it/1eri23o
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TIL that in the 1970s Theo Albrecht (one of the founders of Aldi) was kidnapped, haggled the ransom down to 7 million marks and (unsucessfully) tried to claim the ransom as a tax deductible business expense
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Albrecht
https://redd.it/1er5onr
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TIL of the Coolidge effect, a biological phenomenon seen in animals, whereby males exhibit renewed sexual interest whenever a new female is introduced, even after sex with prior but still available sexual partners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolidge_effect
https://redd.it/1er3j9p
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TIL when Wilt Chamberlain had his famous 100 point NBA game, he shot his free throws "granny style." A usually poor free throw shooter, that night he made 86% of his attempts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain%27s_100-point_game
https://redd.it/1erhwal
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TIL that a high school in Pennsylvania issued an Apple MacBook to each of its 2,306 students, then remotely activated the webcams to spy on the students at home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_District
https://redd.it/1ere5re
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TIL that sumo wrestlers have a 65 year life expectancy (5 years shorter than that of the average Japanese male) due to their high risk of diabetes and heart attacks and liver problems resulting from the excessive diet of food and alcohol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumo#Life_as_a_professional_sumo_wrestler
https://redd.it/1eqoylx
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TIL: Slaves were sometimes lottery prizes in the past. An example was when Bernard Moore, in quick need of cash, divided his estate into 124 prizes and sold 1840 lottery tickets. You could win a slave, 10 cows, a house, a forge, mill, or wagon. The slaves were the cheapest prizes.
https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/deep-dives/when-enslaved-people-were-lottery-prizes/
https://redd.it/1et4f4i
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TIL that the Michelin Man is white because tires were typically white, beige, or grey when the mascot was created in 1894. In 1912 tire manufacturers started adding carbon to their tires which gave them a black colour that is known today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Man
https://redd.it/1esvvjl
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TIL Will Smith turned down Django because “Violence begets violence”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/will-smith-explains-why-he-843195/
https://redd.it/1et8gvz
@r_til
TIL that Anaxagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, was exiled for claiming the moon was just a rock, not a deity.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-greek-philosopher-was-exiled-claiming-moon-was-rock-not-god-180972447/
https://redd.it/1et1vfn
@r_til
TIL that Denzel Washington and Quentin Tarantino had a years long feud over Washington's belief that Tarantino added racist dialogue to CrimsonTide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_Tide_(film)#:~:text=Tarantino%20had%20an%20on%2Dset,he%20%22buried%20that%20hatchet%22
https://redd.it/1erxfl8
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TIL Adolf Hitler was sent by the German armed forces to infiltrate the German Worker's Party led by Anton Drexler. The party was the precursor to the Nazi party that would be led by Hitler.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Drexler
https://redd.it/1es34fg
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TIL that Jonathan the tortoise was born 29 years before the US Civil War and is still alive today
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_(tortoise)
https://redd.it/1esdngi
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TIL that during Hurricane Camille in 1969, the rainfall in Virgina was so heavy that birds drowned in trees and people had to cup hands around their face to breathe. According to the weather service, it was the probable maximum rainfall which meteorologists compute to be theoretically possible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Camille#Virginia
https://redd.it/1esd50e
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TIL the USS Scorpion was lost at sea in May 1968 with 99 men lost. The wreckage was found almost two miles deep, making it impossible to determine the cause of accident. Underwater acoustics out of the Canary Islands heard the exact time of the implosion but were unaware it was the sub sinking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_(SSN-589)
https://redd.it/1erk6ql
@r_til
TIL Freddie Mercury's religion was Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion that currently is estimated to have around 100,000-150,000 global adherents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Zoroastrians
https://redd.it/1erannl
@r_til
TIL about the "Tokyo Tower of Babel," a proposed 10 Kilometer tall tower that was designed to house up to 30 million people and was intended to be built in Tokyo Bay. If completed, it would have been the tallest structure in the world, but it remains an ambitious concept.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Tower_of_Babel
https://redd.it/1erajas
@r_til
TIL Debbie Reynolds was not a dancer when she made Singin' in the Rain (1952). Gene Kelly apparently insulted her for lacking dance experience. when Fred Astaire was in the studio, he found her crying under a piano. On hearing what had happened, Astaire volunteered to help her with her dancing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singin%27_in_the_Rain
https://redd.it/1er9ckw
@r_til
TIL only two people won $1 million on Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader: the superintendent of Georgia public schools, and a Nobel Prize winner in physics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_You_Smarter_than_a_5th_Grader%3F_(American_game_show)
https://redd.it/1erbr6s
@r_til
TIL that Okinawa Island, captured from Japan during the War in the Pacific, remained under American administration until 1972
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_the_Ryukyu_Islands
https://redd.it/1eqf8rk
@r_til
TIL that, despite having been dead for a year, a cat was successfully registered as a certified member of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants by her owner, seeking to showcase the complete lack of any verification for membership aside from payment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_awarded_human_credentials#Henrietta_(Hettie,_certified_member_of_the_American_Association_of_Nutritional_Consultants)
https://redd.it/1eqbgrq
@r_til