› added 8 years ago

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TIL on the real whaleship Essex (which was destroyed by a white sperm whale, inspiring Moby Dick) the crew resupplied at Galápagos by collecting 300 Galápagos giant tortoises which they let roam the ship at will, butchering them at sea as needed.

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eJ6E TIL that Penn Jillette from Penn and Teller painted his finger nails red as a joke in response to his mother telling him him to get a manicure because people would be looking at his hands, but always keeps one finger nail painted red in memory of his mother.
xOWo TIL The Canary Islands were named after the Latin word for dog (Canariae Insulae, “Island of Dogs”). It is the canary birds who are named after the island, not the other way around.
DG8Y TIL there is no historical evidence that the goal of Spartacus and the other slave leaders was to reform the Roman Republic or end slavery. The Third Servile War may have happened simply because the men had an opportunity to escape and wanted to go home.
KvNR TIL Nokia was founded in 1865
d87Br TIL that J.K. Rowling wrote a real person into The Goblet of Fire. The girl was named Natalie McDonald, a Harry Potter fan who was dying of leukaemia while Rowling was still writing the book. Her character is a first-year who dons the sorting hat and is sorted into Griffindor.