› added 2 years ago

58

TIL that when Union General Ulysses S. Grant died, some of the pallbearers were ex-Confederates

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

bWYE TIL Bobby Murcer promised to hit a home run for a terminally ill young fan before a game in 1977—and he hit two of them! The announcers went nuts. There was only one problem—that’s how the boy found out he was dying.
yVNpw TIL that the famous James Bond theme (first heard 1962) was source of a long running dispute between John Barry and Monty Norman. Norman had originally written a song for a musical adaptation of V. S. Naipaul's novel "A House for Mr Biswas" which was the inspiration. (link of the song in comments)
oRO5W TIL the 1862 Greek referendum for the next head of state had write in ballots. 230,000 people voted for Prince Alfred, 480 voted "long live the great powers", 1,763 voted for "a king", 93 voted for "a republic" and Prince Ypsilantis, who died 30 years prior, got 6 votes, same as the eventual winner
JYVeB TIL Common Toads have incredible memory, travelling hundreds of miles in Spring to return to the exact same pond where they were born in order to lay their eggs (of which there can be more than 1,500)
WejN TIL there is a Jellyfish whose neurotoxin “induces an overwhelming feeling of impending doom”