m1bdx TIL that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, ages 15 and 16 respectively, were paid a combined total of $4000 in royalties by record promoter Sid Prosen for their first song, a 1959 original that hit #49 on the charts and sold 100,000 copies. Prosen promoted the song in part by bribing DJs to play it.
DQkPg TIL that in ghettos in German-occupied Poland in WWII, surrogate currencies were established and residents were forced to exchange their cash and belongings for the currencies of the ghettos they reside. The purpose of this was to prevent locals from leaving.
vPxB7 TIL that the Mazda 787B, which won the 1991 24h of Le Mans, was so loud that when driver Volker Weidler lost an earplug while driving, it gave him permanent hearing loss and lifelong balance disorders preventing him from participating in motorsports.
J1oD4 TIL that strawberries and cream shampoo didn't actually taste like strawberries and cream
pYjPb TIL Dale Earnhardt, who was active with the Make a Wish Foundation, granted the wish of a girl who wanted to give him a penny for good luck in the Daytona 500. He glued the penny to his dashboard and won the race.
GAaDj TIL that the Saint Lucia Racer is considered the rarest snake in the world with only about 18-40 individuals left, surviving on two tiny islands after invasive predators wiped them out on the mainland.
164rd TIL "Dry Cleaning" isn't actually dry, it just washes with a solvent rather than water
oR0eE TIL Edmund Fitzgerald, namesake of the ship lost with all hands in a Lake Superior storm in November 1975, had a great uncle named Edmond Fitzgerald who also had a ship named after him. The Edmond Fitzgerald was lost with all hands in a Lake Erie storm in November 1883
a8bJb TIL in Ancient Egypt, killing a cat was regarded as a serious crime. In the years between 60 and 56 BC, outraged people lynched a Roman for killing a cat, although pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes tried to intervene.
KY1Da TIL The average member of Congress spends between 30-70% of their time fundraising
dDgxB TIL that Longyearbyen is named after John Munro Longyear, an American. He established the first mine in Svalbard in 1906 and established Longyear City.
ZpbJo TIL German citizens, upon reaching their 100th birthday, receive a letter of congratulations from their president.