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TIL that in 1938 the Nazis would only create a German version of The Hobbit if Tolkien proved his Aryan heritage. Tolkien wrote back that he disavows any sort of "race doctrine".

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XE7P8 TIL in 1900 three lighthouse keepers mysteriously disappeared from the lighthouse on Eilian Mor, an island north of Scotland. Their logbook indicated they were frightened by a storm that hit on December 12th, but all other reports in the area stated the weather was clear that day
xBA5 TIL that the Czech Republic, consistently ranked among the Top 10 safest countries on earth, has virtually ‘USA levels’ of firearm permissiveness and has never had a school shooting.
b61Z9 TIL of the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which permitted widowed men to marry their dead wife's sister, which had previously not been legal. Under the act, a man marrying his divorced but living ex-wife's sister was still forbidden.
KYgLw TIL In Nigeria, lions are now on the verge of extinction. Tourists could easily sight lions when they visited Yankari National Park four decades ago and the adult lion population is now estimated at fewer than 50. Tanzania has the most lions, at 8000
wLL96 TIL that Prince was Prince's real name(Prince Rogers Nelson), but after a contractual dispute with W.Bros. he changed his stage name to an unpronouncable symbol earning himself the name "The Artist Formally Know as Prince" and "forcing a mass mailing of floppy disks with custom font."