› added 10 years ago

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TIL that one of the richest men of all time, J. Paul Getty, had a pay phone installed in his house after visitors racked up his phone bill.

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XEGoR TIL the "piano" means "soft" in Italian. The instrument's name is actually short for "pianoforte" (soft-loud) which is short for “gravicembalo col piano e forte” (harpsichord with soft and loud). Calling it "piano" defeats the purpose of its original name that meant to depict its dynamic sound.
e566 TIL that the 7th time that park ranger Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning coincided with the 22nd time he fought off a bear with a stick.
gV9 TIL that the Malaysian “Assassin Bug” not only kills and eats its victims, but also wears its victims corpses on its body as part of its suit of armor.
M7RdV TIL General Electric dumped toxic "forever" chemicals into the Hudson River and its CEO, Jack Welch, disputed the EPA's findings that these chemicals are toxic.
E10Jw TIL a man named KurtJMac has been walking to the edge of the world in Minecraft since 2011 to raise money for charity. Since he began over 8 years ago, he's helped raise over $400,000. He is about 25% of the way there.