› added 6 years ago

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TIL when John Glenn became the first man to orbit the Earth in 1962, he carried a note that read "I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader and there will be a massive reward for you in eternity" translated into several languages, in case he splashed down in the remote South Pacific

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6E6EW TIL that "right-wing" and "left-wing" labels originated from the French Revolution, in which anti-royalists sat on the left of the French National Assembly hall and pro-royalty sat on the right.
JYlO8 TIL The Sloppy Joe is a highly controversial sandwich. Historians believe it originated in Cuba, bar owner José García created a handheld version of ropa vieja to serve to his tipsy customers. Others believe that the loose meat sandwich started Sioux City, Iowa from a dinner cook named Joe.
LQxYr TIL Regarding the "40% chance of rain" forecast, the breakthrough piece of knowledge I acquired a few years back, that there is a 100% chance of 40% of the area getting rain, is wrong. It means that within a given period of time, there will be a 40% chance of measurable rain in the forecast area.
oBQWW TIL that of the four Olympic Games German cities were selected to host, two were cancelled due to World Wars 1 and 2, one was hosted under a Nazi flag, and one was hosted by West Germany.
wLPOJ TIL the phrase "no strings attached” is directly tied to 18th century fabric merchants who would mark flaws in woven cloth by tying small strings to the bottom of the bolts at the locations where flaws were present.