› added 7 years ago

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TIL that "On May 5, 1971, Scottie Dunning discovered a tiny male harbor seal pup on the shore of Cundy’s Harbor, Maine." After living in captivity, the seal pup now named Hoover "began to utter phrases such as: “Hello, there!” and “Come Over Here!” in a thick New England accent"

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X0Q5r TIL Winston Churchill once saw Abraham Lincoln's ghost in the White House while naked and smoking a cigar, then proceeded to tell the ghost "Good evening, Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage."
erWD TIL there was Chinese general who defended a town against 150,000 soldiers with only a lute and his reputation for being clever. He opened the gates and sat on the town wall playing the lute. The opposing general thought it was a trap and retreated.
X6jk TIL in 1993 a Missouri man purposely damaged a levee on the Mississippi river to delay his wife coming home from work so he could party. Instead the river flooded 14,000 acres. He was later arrested and convicted of causing a catastrophe and sentenced to life in prison.
womNJ TIL 5-star hotels in Asia are required to offer free toothpaste to guests. This requirement does not apply in the US, where even some prisoners have to pay for toothpaste at the commissary.
lobr TIL the swedish former physical education teacher Richard Juhlin has the best nose for wine (champagne specifically) and in a now infamous blind tasting in 2003, arranged by Spectacle du Monde, he correctly identified 43 of 50 wines. The one who came in second correctly identified four.