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TIL Charles Perrault's Cinderella was originally believed to be a sexual innuendo. The words verre (glass) and vair (fur) sound the same in French, which suggests the Prince "tried on the fur slipper of all the maidens in the land."

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Eg4Lp TIL that the French military has a long tradition of organising brothels for its soldiers, both at bases and near front lines, including in the Algerian and Vietnamese wars. The last one at a base closed in 2003
XrbE TIL The first man to finish the 1904 Olympics marathon rode in a car most of the way. The winner was carried across the finish line after ingesting poison. Fourth place took a nap en route. One of the two first black Olympians came in ninth after being chased a mile off course by wild dogs.
dGMr TIL that Canada’s new Governor General-designate is an astronaut, spent time on the ISS, speaks 6 languages, did research at the IBM lab in Zurich, played piano and sang with several orchestras, and has helped make space robots.
xVyXb TIL In four years at West Point, General Custer amassed a record-total of 726 demerits, one of the worst conduct records in the history of the academy, and finished at the bottom of his class
grREy TIL in 2009, a student, Teunis Tenbrook, won a ten-year legal battle after his ban from Erasmus University. The ban occurred after staff and students complained they could not concentrate due to his smelly feet. A judge ruled that foot odor was not a valid reason to ban a student from a university.