› added 6 years ago

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TIL Douglas Adams came up with the title for The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy while lying drunk in a field near Innsbruck with a copy of The Hitch-Hikers Guide to Europe. Looking up at the stars, he thought it would be a good idea for someone to write a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy as well.

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p880N TIL that the first documented use of fireworks in the UK was in 1486 at Henry VII's wedding, and that Elizabeth I enjoyed fireworks so much that she had a "Fire Master" to oversee royal displays
LkPV0 TIL that 11 of the top 25 cities in the world to be a student in are in a "CANUK" country (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK) ... the second largest bloc is the EU (with 4)
X9dr TIL: Mobile users in poor countries can access Wikipedia articles without data charges thanks to ‘Wikipedia Zero’. It’s currently operating in 34 countries.
9byM TIL The FBI sent a letter to Martin Luther King Jr. suggesting that he commit suicide within 34 days or have his sexual exploits exposed to the nation.
Oo074 TIL That in the Middle Ages, Knights in full harness (full plate armor) could contarary to popular belief, move quite well and were still agile enough to climb, run, roll, and wrestle with little dificulty.