› added 9 years ago

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TIL: Martin Luther King Jr’s son met James Earl Ray asking him, “I just want to ask you, for the record, um, did you kill my father?” Ray replied, “No-no I didn’t,” and King tells Ray that he, along with the King family, believed him; the King family urged that Ray be granted a new trial.

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gvZ8 TIL Venice Island was built on a foundation of tree trunks. 1200 years later, those same trunks still support almost all of central Venice.
VB1xG TIL bodies of victims from Pompeii's Vesuvius eruption didn't turn to stone. Rather, their bodies were enveloped in debris which hardened. The bodies decayed, leaving hollow cavities. During the first excavations, these cavities were filled with a plaster-like material, creating detailed replicas.
jNQAn TIL The year that Lord of the Rings author, J.R.R. Tolkien, died is rather unique. He died in 1973, that number may sound familiar: 1 ring to rule them all, 9 rings for men, 7 rings for the dwarves, and 3 rings for the elves!
nWeQG TIL that there is a term related to the art of hotel toilet paper folding called “toilegami”. The reason for this hotel practice: “Hotels want to give their guests…confidence that the bathroom has been cleaned (so) the maid will fold over the last piece of toilet paper. It is subtle but effective”
e0x04 TIL During his life John Quincy Adams was: Ambassador to Prussia, Portugal, The Netherlands, and The United Kingdom, A Senator, Secretary of State, unanimously confirmed to the Supreme Court (declined), President, and finally served 9 terms as a congressman.