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TIL that saying “I have a thing at 5” in reference to a meeting is actually the original usage of the word ‘thing’; the definition as a generic object came later. This is why the Icelandic national assembly is called the Althing.

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loWQV TIL that under Texas state law, schoolchildren must say the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States, followed by a separate pledge to the state of Texas, followed by a full minute of silence.
XwVE TIL British grenades in WWI originally had a timer of seven seconds, but that was found to be too long as it gave the Germans time to throw the bomb back. Therefore, the time was reduced to four seconds.
d8QaB TIL: Historically, in Britain, committing adultery with the Queen-Consort (the King's wife) was legally considered "high treason" , as was adultery with the wife of the heir to the throne, and fornication with the monarch's eldest unmarried daughter.
jN6ma TIL that it is not possible to resign from the UK Parliament. To "resign", a Member requests that the Queen appoint him/her as "Royal Steward" of a manor (with no duties or pay). Working for Queen while serving in Parliament is illegal, and so by doing this, the Member is ejected from Parliament.
XEwxr TIL the Engish mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead's work was so difficult to understand even professional philosophers struggled to follow Whitehead's writing.