› added 11 years ago

80

TIL that John Cleese declined the title of Commander of the British Empire because he thought it was “silly”

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x669B TIL that in ancient Rome admission to rhe colosseum was free. Today it's like 40 bucks.
wo09E TIL that the British reggae music group UB40 got their band name from an unemployment benefit form for people under 40 years of age in the United Kingdom.
Z80Bv TIL: The highest point (The peak of Mount Whitney at 14,494 feet / 4,418 meters) and lowest point (The Badwater Basin area of Death Valley at -282 feet / -86 meters) in the Contiguous United States are both in California, both in the same county in California, and only 88 miles apart.
0wlRM TIL that due to the high amounts of selenium in Brazil Nuts, it takes only around 140 nuts to cause death by poisoning.
QXok TIL that, when Charles DeGaulle ordered the removal of U.S. Troops from France in 1966, Secretary of State Dean Rusk asked if that included the 60,000+ American Soldiers buried there from the first two world wars. An embarrassed DeGaulle never clarified the point. (Happy Memorial Day)