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TIL that singer-songwriter Tori Amos, received a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five. She is the youngest person ever to have been admitted. At the age of eleven, she was expelled for what Rolling Stone described as "musical insubordination".

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wLLDJ TIL 11 November is Chinese Singles Day, which evolves from a day to give yourself a nice present into a commercial holiday with billions in sale
5vwQ TIL actor David Hyde Pierce tried to change his name to David Pierce. After being cast as Nigel Crane on ‘Frasier’, however, the use of his middle name in the show’s credits helped reinforce his character’s “snooty” image. Pierce won four Emmys as Frasier Crane’s even more-pompous brother.
9w6xB TIL about Ailanthus altissima, also known as the Tree of Heaven or infamously known as the Tree from Hell, is an invasive and noxious weed/tree that can clone itself indefinitely. It spreads by profuse seeds, as well as suckering, forming dense colonies that choke out native plants.
KgbQ TIL that in 1962 a Japanese man became the first person to sail across the Pacific solo. He was arrested when he arrived in San Francisco for not having a passport or money.
6EMvZ TIL The Simpsons writer/producer Mike Reiss insists The Itchy & Scratchy Show is based on Herman and Katnip, which he calls a "cheap, ultra-violent knockoff" of Tom and Jerry. Director David Silverman supports this, stating Herman and Katnip "is hilarious because it's just bad."