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TIL that in 1997 when the Methuen Mall closed, Applebee's refused to leave. For two years the mall was completely empty, save for the single Applebee's. The mall was demolished around the Applebee's, leaving the restaurant alone on a 60-acre lot until a lengthy legal battle forced them to leave.

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D1YGj TIL that when an informer told the Roman emperor Julian that a man possessed a purple robe (which was treason and punishable by death, purple being the royal color), Julian dealt with the offender by sending him a pair of purple slippers to complete the outfit.
wBY6 TIL of American military officer Roddie Edmonds, whose unit was captured during WW2. When asked by his Nazi captors to identify the Jewish soldiers under his command, Edmonds replied, “We are all Jews here.” He saved as many as 200 Jewish-American soldiers from execution.
l9BN TIL a cat has “predicted” the deaths of 25 residents in a nursing home in the US. The cat displayed sudden affection for dying residents
v7oj TIL During the 1st live iPhone demo, Steve Jobs was secretly switching phones because they couldn’t even play a song without crashing. Their displays were rigged to show 5 bars of signal strength and he had to use a portable cell tower just so they would seem reliable enough to make calls.
xvp0 TIL Fanta was invented during WWII when Coca-Cola couldn’t import syrup into Nazi Germany due to a trade embargo, so instead invented a new drink, just for Nazi Germany, using only the available ingredients.