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TIL that when an informer told the Roman emperor Julian that a man possessed a purple robe (which was treason and punishable by death, purple being the royal color), Julian dealt with the offender by sending him a pair of purple slippers to complete the outfit.

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p858p TIL that the Icewind Dale region of the hugely popular D&D "Forgotten Realms" campaign setting was created with author R.A. Salvatore claimed a typo on the map as the setting for his new book since all the other regions were taken by other authors.
R7b84 TIL a shark helped another shark give birth at an Auckland, New Zealand aquarium in 2009. The first shark bit the abdomen of the second, freeing the pups inside. One aquarium staff member said "It had to bite a certain part to let them out and do it without killing the babies or her."
d80pE Today I learned that the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out because a Japanese soldier ditched during a drill to use the bathroom. When they couldn't find him, they assumed that he was kidnapped by a nearby Chinese Town. That led to an armed conflict that led to a full-scale war that lasted 8 years.
4X0JR TIL a 28-yr-old Welsh man with a "no regrets" tattoo partying in Vegas in a bachelor party ended up at the Hoover Dam. He reported thinking: "fuck it! I'm going for a swim." His friends cheered as he swam across the Hoover Dam reservoir which luckily had 9 of its 10 turbines off. He was fined $330.
VBlxQ TIL: The Wilhelm Scream is a distinct sound effect of a scream has been used in over 3,000 movies & films. It's a Hollywood in-joke and once you hear and know about, you'll hear over and over again in almost every action film you watch.