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TIL In the '70s UK singer Nick Lowe desperately wanted out of his record contract and so recorded an intentionally awful and ridiculous song called 'Bay City Rollers We Love You'. It was a massive hit with Roller fans who didn't realize it was a spoof song and Lowe had to continue in his contract

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VMOaZ TIL about The Giving Pledge, a campaign started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage extremely wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
awOlA TIL that the reason that pubs in England have such weird names goes back to medieval times, when most people were illiterate, but could recognize symbols. This is why they have names like Boot and Castle, or Fox and Hound.
Y7av7 TIL of Portable Soup, also known as pocket soup or veal glue. A precursor of meat extract, bouillon cubes, and of industrially dehydrated and instant food, it is essentially a partially dehydrated broth and a solid counterpart of meat glaze.
nXRd TIL Japanese engineers were asked to redesign the front end of the Bullet Train because it carried enough speed to create a sonic boom whenever it exited a tunnel. Residents could feel the blast from miles away.
4XDO6 TIL Flying "coach" is a reference to traveling by stagecoach, which involved large numbers of travelers sharing cramped quarters with little to no amenities. This primitive, negative connotation is why airlines don't officially call it "coach," but rather "economy class."