› added 9 years ago

107

TIL that Tom Moore Jr, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, introduced an April Fools resolution to illustrate how some of his colleagues didn’t read things they voted on. The bill passed, officially commending The Boston Strangler for his work in population control.

l7nDr TIL about what is considered to be the most challenging college entrance exam ever. It is administered by the All Souls College of the University of Oxford since 1878. Examinees are required to finish 12 hours worth of written exams and only 1-2 candidates are admitted per year.
0w10L TIL that Oprah Winfrey has such a severe phobia of chewing gum that it's banned from her television studio and this includes audience members. It all stems from her grandmother leaving gum all around the house to save for a later chew. It didn't stop Reese Witherspoon from chewing it in front of her
7rQ87 TIL: Nazi Germany was planning to relocate all Jews to Madagascar. The plan was put on hold in 1940 after the Germans failed to defeat the British in the Battle of Britain (partly because they expected the British to surrender and use their navy in the evacuation), then later changed it to genocide.
gMVV4 TIL that the global economic crisis of 2008-10 was linked with at least 260,000 excess cancer deaths
5YjKP TIL that while productions of the ballet Swan Lake mostly use the original coreography, almost every version staged contains a different ending, ranging from very romantic to darkly tragic