› added 2 years ago

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TIL that Dr. Seuss created the word NERD in "If I Ran the Zoo), which is no longer being published.

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1Qlr TIL in 10th century lived Syrian poet who was attacking and rejecting Islamic (or any other religion) claims and could freely express his opinions in Arabic lands without fear of his life. In 2013, almost a thousand years after his death, a Jihadist group beheaded his statue
97Nr TIL in 1978, then-NBA center Clifford Ray saved a dolphin’s life by using his 45 inch reach to grab a screw the dolphin had swallowed. He received instruction over the phone from a veterinarian, who told him how to reach up and into the dolphin’s second stomach to extract the screw.
8aNXZ TIL within the first 5 years of the "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk" campaign (begun in 1983), the U.S experienced its lowest number of alcohol-related fatalities since the DOT began keeping records, and more than 68% of Americans reported trying to prevent someone from driving after drinking
neo5W TIL about the Winchester Mansion, a 161-room California monstrosity built by widower Sarah Winchester, who's husband had invented the Winchester rifle. She believed that spirits of those killed by his rifles were haunting her; so she added rooms, hallways, and passages to nowhere to appease them.
KO8nQ TIL of Henry Darger who created over 300 gorgeous, often giant and mostly very distubing pieces of artwork which were only discovered shortly before his death. His last words were "too late now" when someone mentioned his work which is now considered one of the most important "outisder art".