› added 4 years ago

241

TIL the song "Yankee Doodle" was sung by British soldiers to taunt American soldiers during the Revolution. Specifically, the song implied that American soldiers were gay.

Read more atlasobscura.com

via reddit.com

NvyQ TIL of Balloonfest ‘86, a publicity stunt where the United Way of Cleveland released 1.4 million balloons over the city. The balloons tied up highway and air traffic, caused lawsuits seeking millions in damages, and interfered with a Coast Guard search for two boaters who were later found drowned.
eEvk TIL that before the American revolution, the English actually pronounced their R’s, and the English accent then actually sounded like today’s General American accent.
kZld TIL in 2009 a woman caused a riot at a Columbus, Ohio, Burlington Coat Factory after it became clear to customers, whom she had offered store-wide to purchase all orders up to $500 from her lottery winnings, that she had no money.
X1yR TIL the character of Fagin in “Oliver Twist” was a “vicious” Jewish stereotype until Charles Dickens met a Jewish banker and subsequently removed all derogatory references to Fagin being a Jew in later editions.
woejJ TIL A Serial Killer Thought He Could Read His Victims Minds