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TIL the verb “eavesdrop” is a back-formation from the noun “eavesdropper”, which was formed from the unrelated noun eavesdrop (“the dripping of water from the eaves of a house”). An eavesdropper was someone who stands at the eavesdrop (i.e., next to the house) so as to hear what is said within.

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MeaX7 TIL the last time the British Empire expanded was 1955, when they annexed a tiny rock 300km off the Scottish coast to prevent the Soviets spying on their ballistic missile tests.
d8xdd TIL Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was so violent for a PG-rated cartoon, which forced the studio to remove some scenes such as the stabbing of Batman, real death of Bonk and Joker,etc
ydvJ TIL Katharine Lee Bates, author of ‘America the Beautiful’ was a lesbian who left the Republican party in 1924 over its growing xenophobia
m1map TIL that Henry Hill, whose life was the basis for the movie Goodfellas, was kicked out of the witness protection program in the 1990s and lived until he was 69
mxQ5Y TIL President Ulysses S Grant's birth name was "Hirum Ulysses", but when a family friend mistakenly submitted his name to West Point as "US Grant" he became Ulysses S Grant. West Point would not allow any correction to his application.