Today

KY1Zw TIL That the Average Modern High School Track Athlete would have won Gold in the 100 Meter at the 1896 Olympics.
dDgeK TIL about Zhang Guotao, a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party and one of Mao Zedong’s main rivals. He moved to Toronto, Canada after his fall from power and became a Christian disinterested in politics
oR0W7 TIL China's Last Emperor worked as a Street Sweeper and Gardener in Beijing after serving 10 years in a re-education camp
164lW TIL parasitic castrators are parasites which destroy or block the reproductive capabilities of the host, allowing them to make use of the energy and nutrients which would have been used for maintenance of sexual organs, secondary sexual characteristics, mate-seeking behaviour or raising offspring.
GAaZ7 TIL After the killing of his father, Philip II, Alexander blamed Persia and overthrew the Persian Empire in response, but Aristotle and others claim Philip was assassinated by an angry ex-lover enraged that Philip didn’t avenge him after he was revenge-raped at the behest of another lover’s friend.
pYjR4 TIL President Nixon tried to deport John Lennon during the Vietnam war for (mostly) Lennon being an activist against it and war in general.
J1oQj TIL In 1985, it took Robert Ballard 8 days (192 hours) to find the Titanic wreckage around 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada
vPxej TIL that before Thanksgiving parades and Halloween became popular, Manhattan had Ragamuffin parades since 1870.
DQkNp TIL In 1977, a fire started on a farm in East Turkestan when a 12-year-old in the audience set off a firecracker, which ignited mourning wreaths to the recently deceased Mao Zedong. 694 people were killed, making it the deadliest fire since the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
m1bnO TIL ladybugs are named so after the Virgin Mary (known as “Our Lady”), who was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early art, and the seven spots of the ladybug were said to represent her seven joys and seven sorrows
yV9lv TIL Hawaii has feral chickens that are a nuisance (crowing roosters) and an environmental hazard (damage crops, spread weeds, threaten native plants). Efforts to contain them have largely failed
ANBP7 TIL Lucy Lambert Hale, the fiancé of John Wilkes Booth, was considered one of the most beautiful socialites of her time. She began receiving poems from suitors when she was still a 12 year old child.