› added 4 years ago

694

TIL of The Irish Sweepstakes, est. 1930, which sold lottery tickets internationally to fund Irish hospitals, and prizes won via horse races. The US, where gambling was illegal at the time, bought the most tickets.

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x50B TIL: On 12/7/1941, It Was Actually Not Admiral Yamamoto’s Intention To Attack Pearl Harbor Without Any Formal Warning. The 5,000 Word Declaration Of War Had Taken Too Long To Transcribe And Was Not Delivered In Time
KOZGQ TIL that Peter Falk lost his right eye at the age of three because of cancer. He wore a fake eye for the rest of his life, which gave him his trademark squint.
v19E4 TIL that in 1900, the Secretary of the Navy wanted to use the USS Constitution for target practice until it sunk. A benefactor offered to buy it but was refused so he started a campaign that successfully pressured Congress into saving it. Built in 1797, it is now the oldest ship still afloat.
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GAKkj TIL about Chica Da Silva, a mixed slave woman born in Brazil. She used her wiles and hid her identity to become the most powerful woman in 1700s Brazil.