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TIL Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI got married by Proxy. Marie's own brother stood in for the groom during the ceremony, and she only met her husband for the first time a month after their marriage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette
https://redd.it/1ev84dn
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TIL the Panathenaic Stadium, built in 330BC, is the only stadium made entirely of marble, was excavated and used in the 1896 Olympics, and and is still used for events today. Its record attendance of 80,000 was for a basketball game in 1968.
https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panathenaic_Stadium
https://redd.it/1ev9ak6
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TIL the city of Gresham, Oregon has a tree serial killer dubbed "The Gresham Lumberjack" who has been going around randomly chopping down hundreds of trees in the vicinity for no known reason. The culprit still remains at large.
https://www.odditycentral.com/news/the-gresham-lumberjack-oregons-mysterious-tree-serial-killer.html
https://redd.it/1evbncx
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TIL Aurora Rodríguez Carballeira attempted to create an ideal human being through her daughter, Hildegart. Hildegart read at 2, spoke 4 languages at 8, joined law school at 13, becoming professor there at 18. Her mother killed her when she tried to run away.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Carballeira
https://redd.it/1evdk9i
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TIL about Problembär or problem bear in Bavaria, Germany a single bear called Bruno. Shot dead in 2006 because of his preference for sheep and chickens, he was the first bear on Bavarian Soil in 170 years. Italy later declared Bruno to be Italian state property and demanded his return.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_JJ1
https://redd.it/1eudytu
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TIL of the 31 US Presidents who have held military rank, 30 of them were officers. The only enlistedman among them was President Buchanan, who was a private in the War of 1812
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_military_service
https://redd.it/1eulrr2
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TIL: Levi’s uses a blank tab on 10% of its products to protect its trademark of the tab shape.
https://levihelp.levi.com/hc/en-gb/articles/22356609468945-Levi-s-Blank-Tab
https://redd.it/1eup9uf
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TIL that in the 1990s, the CIA developed a robotic catfish named "Charlie." This unmanned underwater vehicle was designed to collect water samples covertly, controlled via a line-of-sight radio handset. The details of its missions remain classified.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a35729403/cia-robotic-catfish-spy-history/
https://redd.it/1eury38
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TIL that the buildings on the Greek Islands are whitewashed partially because whitewash was used as a cheap disinfectant that prevented cholera and other serious diseases in the early 20th Century
https://www.santorini-view.com/white-houses-of-santorini
https://redd.it/1euj1iv
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TIL that Magikarp is based off of a folktale about a carp swimming upstream and if it gets past the dragon gate it turns into a dragon. It's meant to be a symbol of passing the imperial exams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magikarp_and_Gyarados
https://redd.it/1etho6a
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TIL that John III, Duke of Cleves, the father of Anne, the fourth wife of Henry VIII, allegedly had 63 illegitimate half-siblings from his father, John II, who was known as “The Babymaker.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II,_Duke_of_Cleves
https://redd.it/1etuxy8
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TIL Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt refused an Olympic silver upgrade after the original medalist tested positive posthumously, wishing the late athlete's family to keep the medal out of respect.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/wrestling/37761968
https://redd.it/1etih3r
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TIL about Andy George, who makes a chicken sandwich entirely from scratch. He grew his own veggies, travelled via plane to collect ocean water to make salt, milked a cow to make butter and cheese, killed a chicken, and grew wheat for flour. The entire project took six months and costs him $1,500.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/making-sandwich-scratch-took-man-six-months-180956674/
https://redd.it/1etl1jl
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TIL Descartes was about to publish "The World" in 1633 but then he learned that Galileo had been condemned for publishing the view that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Descartes suppressed his book but still hoped that his physics would one day be taught in Catholic schools
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Descartes/Residence-in-the-Netherlands#ref478291
https://redd.it/1etz0eh
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TIL Ronald Reagan's post presidency office was in Fox Plaza, where Die Hard was filmed.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/inside-ronald-reagans-die-hard-635440/
https://redd.it/1et00ou
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TIL that after Claude Monet had cataract surgery, he could see ultraviolet light which made everything look more bluish and vibrant in his paintings
https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/could-claude-monet-see-like-a-bee/
https://redd.it/1ev58e0
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TIL When the 1930s musician Russ Columbo died from an accidental gunshot, his siblings went to great lengths to conceal the news from his mother, who had a heart condition. They wrote fake letters from him and used records to simulate his radio show. This continued until she died a decade later.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Columbo
https://redd.it/1ev5wbl
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TIL Germany built huge artillery during WW1 where each shot would wear out the gun so much that shells had increasing diameter and had to fired in the right order
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Gun
https://redd.it/1evl2xf
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TIL That several elite colleges took nude photos of every incoming freshman from 1940s to 1970s including many famous people
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League_nude_posture_photos
https://redd.it/1evi09a
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TIL each pawn in chess had a specific name/profession based on its starting position on the board
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawn_(chess)#History
https://redd.it/1eui029
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TIL microwave ovens can superheat water, meaning it's temperature is above boiling point without the water boiling due to lack of nucleation sites. Disturbing the water will then cause the whole water to instantly boil, creating violent flashes of steam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheating#Occurrence_via_microwave_oven
https://redd.it/1euk1h8
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TIL According to the U.S. Census Bureau, less than 5% of GED holders will actually receive a Bachelor’s Degree. 77% of students with a GED do not continue past the first semester of college.
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https://intl.seattlecolleges.edu/docs/high-school-diploma-vs-ged.pdf
https://redd.it/1eul59v
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TIL Circuit City created a proprietary disposable type of DVD called a DIVX that was viewable for only 48 hours after initial viewing unless an additional fee was paid. The product's failure lost them so much money in a year that it's believed to be partially responsible for their bankruptcy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX
https://redd.it/1euehz1
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TIL in 2011 Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov collapsed at home from a heart attack & was declared dead. Days later, as she lay in the casket at her own funeral, she woke up. Seeing all the weeping mourners, she began yelling & was rushed to the hospital where she died again 12 minutes later of heart failure.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sponsored/people-feared-being-buried-alive-so-much-they-invented-these-special-safety-coffins-180970627/
https://redd.it/1euqkqj
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TIL since 1980, the primary cause of death for members of the US Military has been accidents, except between 2003 and 2007.
https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/app/summaryData/deaths/byYearManner
https://redd.it/1eu1yxp
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TIL that there's a Fungi that absorbs radiation and is feeding on the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant.
https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/videos/chernobyl-fungus-eats-nuclear-radiation-via-radiosynthesis-338464
https://redd.it/1etoahm
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TIL that in 16th-century France, Martin Guerre vanished for eight years, only for an impostor to take his place, fooling even his wife. The real Martin eventually returned during the court trial just as the impostor was almost found innocent of not being an impostor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Guerre#Appeal_and_reappearance_of_Martin_Guerre
https://redd.it/1etjzyf
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TIL Eating hair can result in large, undigestible masses in the stomach called "bezoars" that may require surgery to remove
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221026121930094X
https://redd.it/1ett3qi
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TIL Gibraltar forgot it was a city for 180 years. In 2022 it applied to gain city status, lost the bid, but became a city anyway after reaeachers discovered Queen Victoria had granted it that status 180 years ago.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62710553
https://redd.it/1etnrje
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TIL The most recent invasion of mainland Britain failed in part due the majority of the invading French force consisting of irregulars, including republicans, deserters, convicts and Royalist prisoners. Order broke down once they discovered the town's supply of wine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fishguard
https://redd.it/1esse1y
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