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641

TIL For the questionnaire of the 1897 census in Russia, in the field “Occupation”, tsar Nicholas II wrote in:“Owner of Russia”

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b9eEN TIL: There is a species of jellyfish whose sting inflicts the victim with an impending sense of doom. The sensatation of constant imminent dread is reportedly so severe, patients beg their doctors to kill them to end it.
j6Jpn TIL that the original ideas of Dracula and Frankenstein were both conceived on the same night, in the same castle, during a freak storm
gM6Q9 TIL that when Mike Merrill considered getting a vasectomy or moving in with his girlfriend, the choice wasn't his to make. It was instead left up to 805 people who'd purchased his life. Merrill, a private citizen, sold 11,823 shares of his life to complete strangers who now control his decisions.
VBpm TIL that US soldiers in WWII were promised a quart of icecream if they refrained from killing Japanese POWs.
66b8 TIL that “saying uncle” originated in Roman times, when “Uncle” was a term for a respected elder. Being called “uncle” usually satisfied a bully’s ego and ended the torment.