TIL that during the U.S. Civil War, Andrew Carnegie was drafted for the Army; however, rather than serve, he paid another man $850 to report for duty in his place, a common practice at the time.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:56AM by DankieKang
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https://ift.tt/2WB61Hc
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:56AM by DankieKang
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HISTORY
Andrew Carnegie
Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist.
TIL Gayla Peevey, the singer of "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" was given an actual hippopotamus. The hippo "Matilda" lived for 47 year before dying of a heart attack while being transported to Disney World's Animal Kingdom in 1998.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:29AM by Hunlea
via reddit https://ift.tt/2WCMne0
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:29AM by Hunlea
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Wikipedia
Gayla Peevey
American singer
TIL in the sea between Australia and New Zealand, there's an island taller than it is wide. Ball's Pyramid only measures 300m across, yet peaks at 562m in elevation.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:07AM by msnf
via reddit https://ift.tt/38nlf8k
https://ift.tt/1Es73IJ
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:07AM by msnf
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Wikipedia
Ball's Pyramid
an island and an erosional remnant of a shield volcano southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific
TIL According to one story of his last words, Voltaire's response to a priest at his deathbed urging him to renounce Satan was "Now is not the time for making new enemies."
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:32AM by investorio
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https://ift.tt/3h8mPPf
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:32AM by investorio
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TIL Christopher Columbus hanged, burned, or cut the hands off of hundreds of thousands of Caribbean natives for their failure to bring him a bell full of gold on an island with little to no gold. Thousands committed suicide to avoid his punishments.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 07:05AM by heyimdong
via reddit https://ift.tt/2WDaWre
https://ift.tt/2LZ9VYo
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 07:05AM by heyimdong
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TIL Many Christmas traditions come from the Roman holiday Saturnalia.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:47AM by igloojoe
via reddit https://ift.tt/2LNCs2T
https://ift.tt/2ZpANH0
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:47AM by igloojoe
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HISTORY
Saturnalia
Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of
TIL Joseph Stalin originally trained as a priest in an Orthodox Spiritual Seminary. He at first achieved high grades, but later lost interest, declaring himself an atheist. He was known to stalk out of prayers, refuse to doff his hat to monks, and was confined to a cell for his rebellious behaviour.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 03:56AM by who_died_of_ennui
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nM9oqU
https://ift.tt/3nHoPk3
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 03:56AM by who_died_of_ennui
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Wikipedia
Joseph Stalin
Soviet politician, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and premier of the Soviet Union (1878-1953)
TIL that the Chimney Sweepers Act of 1788 was a British Act of Parliament passed to stop child labor, as boys as young as four were being used as chimney sweeps. The Act raised the minimum age to eight years old.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:19AM by jcd1974
via reddit https://ift.tt/38jkNYo
https://ift.tt/2WD3NXW
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:19AM by jcd1974
via reddit https://ift.tt/38jkNYo
Wikipedia
Chimney Sweepers Act 1788
The Chimney Sweepers Act 1788 (28 Geo. 3 c. 48) was a British Act of Parliament passed to try to stop child labour. Many boys as young as four were being used as chimney sweeps.
TIL hat-makers in the 19th century regularly used mercury in the manufacturing of felt hats, which caused a high rate of poisoning and led to neurological damage like slurred speech, memory loss, and tremors. This was the inspiration for the Mad Hatter character in Alice in Wonderland.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 08:38AM by EverythingHasRabies
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KMNRja
https://ift.tt/37CVEcg
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 08:38AM by EverythingHasRabies
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Wikipedia
Hatter (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
fictional character from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
TIL about Srinivasa Ramanujan's lost notebook, which was rediscovered by Mathematician George Andrews in 1976. It was a bunch of notes with over 600 formulae, which he had written before his death.The mock theta functions in the notebook have been useful for calculating the entropy of black holes.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 09:30AM by RealityCheck18
via reddit https://ift.tt/3ps6FDt
https://ift.tt/1TcMq7M
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 09:30AM by RealityCheck18
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ThatsMaths
Ramanujan’s Lost Notebook
In the Irish Times column this week ( TM010 ), we tell how a collection of papers of Srinivasa Ramanujan turned up in the Wren Library in Cambridge and set the mathematical world ablaze.
TIL G.H Hardy came up with a scale of mathematical ability that went from 0 to 100. He put himself at 25. David Hilbert, the great German mathematician, was at 80. Ramanujan was 100. When he died in 1920 at the age of 32, he left behind three notebooks that still inspire mathematical work today
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 09:54AM by melonmusk42069
via reddit https://ift.tt/37DTwAQ
https://ift.tt/1nCga0E
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 09:54AM by melonmusk42069
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Wikipedia
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Indian mathematician
TIL the statement "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" is often falsely attributed to Voltaire. It actually originated from an essay by Kevin Alfred Storm in 1993.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:57PM by Historical_Book
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:57PM by Historical_Book
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Wikipedia
Kevin Alfred Strom
American criminal
TIL On the set of Jumanji, Robin Williams protected his child actor costars from gruelling forced overtime.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:25PM by suck-me-beautiful
via reddit https://ift.tt/3hcuvji
https://ift.tt/3piEzdp
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:25PM by suck-me-beautiful
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ScreenRant
Robin Williams Protected Jumanji Child Stars From Overtime
Producers wanted to overwork the kids, but Williams refused.
TIL the Seinfield episode, "The Contest" where the four main characters see who can go the longest without masturbating, never once contained the word "masturbation" and won an Emmy for achievement in writing.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 04:16PM by Sumit316
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pf1Ugb
https://ift.tt/38tloHi
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 04:16PM by Sumit316
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VULTURE
The Oral History of Seinfeld’s ‘The Contest’
Larry David, Michael Richards, and more tell the story behind 1997’s ‘The Contest’ episode of Seinfeld.
TIL in 1323, the Mexica - founders of the Aztec Empire - asked the King of Culhuacan for his daughter. The Mexica sacrificed her, believing that would make the princess into a deity. During a festival dinner, a priest came out wearing her flayed skin. Upon seeing this, the King expelled the Mexica
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 01:30PM by malalatargaryen
via reddit https://ift.tt/3hbqbRA
https://ift.tt/2WExckg
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 01:30PM by malalatargaryen
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Wikipedia
History of the Aztecs
aspect of history
TIL The man with the world’s longest-ever beard, four and a half feet long, broke his neck and died after tripping over it.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:28PM by watchers_in_the_dark
via reddit https://ift.tt/2LVH7zT
https://ift.tt/2Bwnfs8
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:28PM by watchers_in_the_dark
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Atlas Obscura
Visit a Beard That Killed Its Owner
Over 450 years later, Hans Steininger's deadly facial hair is still on display.
TIL on occasion, animals have been granted a degree, despite not doing any classes. Animals are often used as a device to clearly demonstrate the lax standards of the awarding institutions. In one case, a cat's degree helped lead to a fraud prosecution against the institution that had issued it.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 03:29PM by who_died_of_ennui
via reddit https://ift.tt/3rnsnKg
https://ift.tt/3h8nmkj
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 03:29PM by who_died_of_ennui
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Wikipedia
List of animals with fraudulent diplomas
Wikimedia list article
TIL Drew Carey had eye surgery in 2001 and no longer requires glasses but continues to wear them as part of his celebrity persona.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:19PM by iamkeerock
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pexZ7L
https://ift.tt/3rjAisf
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:19PM by iamkeerock
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Mentalfloss
8 Things You Might Not Know About Drew Carey
The 'Price is Right' host really doesn't need the glasses. He wears them just so you'll recognize him.
TIL that in Germany, it is illegal to kill any animal that is a vertebrate "without a proper reason" like the animal being ill or a danger to humans. Because of this, all German animal shelters are no-kill.
https://ift.tt/3rl0ylQ
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 07:48PM by AberdeenBumbledorf69
via reddit https://ift.tt/37EGx22
https://ift.tt/3rl0ylQ
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 07:48PM by AberdeenBumbledorf69
via reddit https://ift.tt/37EGx22
FluffyHund - English Journal for dog care, good food, grooming and fun for Germany
Your Guide To German Animal Shelters - FluffyHund
A comprehensive guide on German Animal Shelters - the shelter system, coordinates, questions, documents and more.
TIL doctors used to prescribe ‘Obecalp,’ a sugar pill that is literally ‘placebo’ spelled backwards, for various illnesses such as psychosomatic disorders and chronic ailments.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:06PM by Bukkakek
via reddit https://ift.tt/3hhoSR5
https://ift.tt/2M3C14V
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:06PM by Bukkakek
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WebMD
Have You Ever Taken Obecalp?
I have prescribed Obecalp in the distant past, perhaps 25 years ago. It comes in capsules or pills and is sold in ...
TIL that Canadian Thanksgiving predates American Thanksgiving by 43 years
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 04:37PM by Jaxerfp
via reddit https://ift.tt/3mGrskS
https://ift.tt/2JaRMFR
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 04:37PM by Jaxerfp
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Insider
This is why Canada has a different Thanksgiving than the US
The world is constantly comparing Canadians to Americans. From our work cultures to our diets, there are certainly plenty of ways we're similar-yet-different — and Thanksgiving is no exception.