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TIL that Ernest Hemingway's mom was so displeased with the content of his critically acclaimed novel that she wrote him a letter chastising him for wasting talent on one of 'the filthiest books of the year' and excessive use of words such as 'damn' and 'bitch'

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QNLD9 TIL In Johannesburg, Ponte City a 54 story Apartheid era Luxury Apartment Complex fell to violent gangs and had a trash pile 14 stories tall. People used the 54 story balconies to commit suicide by jumping into the Courtyard
nWKeG TIL: That Ikue Ōtani, the voice of Pikachu, voices the role in all languages which is unlike other Pokémon voice actors, where the actor is different in each country's anime dub. It is said that Pikachu's voice was kept consistent across languages so its name would be universal across the world.
5VmoP TIL of Richard Francis Burton, an 19th century British explorer and writer, who disguised himself as Muslim in order to get into both Mecca and Medina. While he was not the first European to go to either one of those cities, his pilgrimage is the most famous and best documented of the time.
gr7xD TIL both Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were banned from baseball temporarily for signing autographs in a casino, "no place for a baseball hero and Hall of Famer."
X09ED TIL the southern slope of Ecuador’s Cayambe Volcano contains the highest point on Earth crossed by the equator—at about 4,690 meters (15,387 feet) above sea level. It’s the only place on the equator where snow is found year-round.