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TIL Composer Dvořák was inspired by African-American spirituals while in America and became convinced they were the future of American music. He told a student, "these beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them."

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gb5y TIL: Joan Kroc, wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, donated over $1 billion to the Salvation Army. At one point, she tried to donate the Padres baseball team to San Diego, but the MLB rules forbid public ownership.
p8JjN TIL that in 2015 a star previously 100,000 times brighter than the sun disappeared
9kDG TIL Homo Sapiens didn’t have problems with crooked teeth until agriculture and the resulting change in diet.
MeMeV TIL the Gemini 3 was named Molly Brown in the hope that it wouldn't sink at splashdown. NASA didn't like this and asked astronaut Gus Grissom to change the name, to which he replied "how about the Titanic?". NASA relented, but this was the last time astronauts were allowed to name their capsule.
GY9d1 TIL that dolphins get high off puffer fish by holding the fish in their mouths and passing it around between them, causing the fish to release defense toxins which are euphoric in low doses. After they get high, they let the puffer fish go.