› added 6 years ago

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TIL that Norman Greenbaum, artist of Spirit In The Sky, is actually Jewish. He was watching TV one night when he came across a country gospel star, thought it looked easy, and wrote his one hit wonder in 15 minutes. This Jewish artist’s song about Jesus sold 2 million copies in a year.

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BrPJx TIL that the Japanese carbonated soft drink Ramune was invented in 1884 by the Scottish pharmacist Alexander Cameron Sim. This drink became very popular with the local Japanese after it was advertised in the Tokyo Mainichi Newspaper as a preventative for cholera.
Yald TIL that 3 guys tried to sell Coca-Cola’s secrets to Pepsi, and Pepsi contacted the FBI.
graXy TIL that Beethoven's prescribed tempo for his songs is so fast that it sounds bad, and researchers think it's because he was using his metronome wrong
N7j5J TIL research suggests that a future Martian colony should grow and develop completely independently from Earth. Its members would relinquish their Earthly citizenship, have no nation on Earth to answer to, and only establish diplomatic and economic relations with new crews that land on the planet.
9YBjB TIL that in 1890, an 8-year-old boy named Henry James Bristow saved his 3-year-old sister's life by tearing off her clothing when she caught on fire. She had knocked over a paraffin lamp on the mantlepiece. Henry was severely burnt in the process and later died of his injuries.