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TIL that The Juilliard School has about 275 pianos, including 231 Steinway grands. Also, that the Strings Dept. allows students to borrow valuable historic stringed instruments for special events. Among the more than 200 such instruments, several are by Stradivari and del Gesù.

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7K6x TIL in Western dress code, “semi-formal” is technically synonymous with “black tie” (tuxedos and evening gowns). True “formal” dress is known as “white tie,” and consists of tailcoats for men and ball gowns for women.
vPD4j TIL During WWII, the US Army deployed the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops known as “The Ghost Army”, composed of artists, sound engineers & actors whose mission was to deceive German forces by creating fake military units using inflatable tanks, sound effects and dummy radio transmissions.
VBolD TIL about the Essex, an American whaling ship that was sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. The survivors made for land off the South American coast. Seven crew members were cannibalized before eight survivors were rescued. The tragedy gained international attention, inspiring the novel, Moby Dick.
VMawB TIL that a French bacteriologist trying to use a virus to kill rabbits on his property accidentally wiped out over 90% of the rabbits in Western Europe. He was prosecuted and fined, but the French government later gave him a medal depicting a dead rabbit.
wLwkE TIL the USSR tried to domesticate moose for use in a Communist cavalry.