› added 9 years ago

51

TIL one of the checks which a British nuclear submarine makes to see whether the government is still functioning is whether BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting.

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9wLN7 TIL that pineapples are not native to the Hawaiian islands, but people nowadays associate the fruit with Hawaii because of James Dole and his company, the Dole Food Company (now Dole), through marketing and investment efforts between 1899 and 1933.
ZxEY TIL a man claimed ownership of the moon and has legally sold over 300 million acres of extraterrestrial land to over 2 million people in 176 countries.
9Y6jQ TIL Sacha Cohen, best known for his role as Borat, was initially going to play Freddy Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. He was dropped due to Cohen wanting to explore the raunchier side of the band, whereas the band members wanted to protect their legacy.
8a0x4 TIL that Johnny Appleseed, of American folklore fame, may have been planting apples that were good for eating, but suitable for making hard cider from. He was basically going around planting apples to eventually turn into booze, and that is why he was so welcome wherever he went.
Y70Er TIL the Pittsburgh refrigerator cat was a mythical breed of cat claimed to lived in refrigerated warehouses at the turn of the century