› added 5 years ago

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TIL Pope Urban VII was the shortest serving Pope in history; living only 12 days after his election. In his short reign, he instituted the world’s first known smoking ban, threatening to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church”. He died of Malaria.

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lorQ1 TIL that the first stall in public restrooms is most likely to be the cleanest. According to studies, people tend to choose the middle one because of the “centrality preference.” On the other hand, the first stall, which is the least used, is likely to be the cleanest.
9llQ TIL Teller (from Penn & Teller) began his silence during his youth when performing for college fraternities. He found that if he was silent, they would stop throwing beer and focus on his act.
GW5N TIL Bruce Lee carried a .357 magnum everywhere once he became famous as the guy no one could beat in a fight
7rGpr TIL During WWII, the British housed captured Nazi generals in country estates which were secretly bugged. They were invited to garden parties, lunches at the Strand in central London and were each given servants. It was so extravagant that an outraged Churchill ordered the "pampering" to stop
Z8d9p TIL that Frida Kahlo grew up during a revolution, and the nationalism that followed would inspire her art.