› added 9 years ago

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TIL on his second day in office Jimmy Carter issued unconditional pardons to hundreds of thousands of Vietnam War draft dodgers

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XEkgQ TIL that firefighters in Pana, Ill. found a cockroach infestation so massive that the city council agreed that the best option was to burn the house down
nWXkd TIL about the Orgone Accumulator, a 1950s device claiming to attract massless, omnipresent substance healing energy. When the FDA was investigating the device, they noted that one purchaser, a college professor, knew it was "phony" but found it "helpful because his wife sat quietly in it for 4 hrs"
n5Ao TIL that at the 2006 Winter Olympics, a Norwegian coach handed a spare ski pole to a Canadian after she broke hers during a relay race. The Canadian skier went on to win a silver medal. Canadian citizens were so appreciative they collectively gave the coach more than 5 tons of Maple Syrup.
BrVxd TIL Stephen King's 1974 novel, Carrie, was rejected by 30 publishers before Doubleday bought it and paid him a $2,500 advance. The hardcover sold only 13,000 copies, but Signet bought the paperback rights for $400,000, finally allowing King to quit teaching and become a full-time writer.
l7EPG TIL that prior to their famous duel, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr served on the same defense team during a sensational murder trial that was dubbed the "Trial of the Century."