› added 10 years ago

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TIL that German used to be the second most widely spoken language in the US, before it was forcibly repressed during WWI. Many local governments, schools and newspapers would operate in German.

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JYm91 TIL that hotcakes (à la "selling like hotcakes") are in fact pancakes; hotcakes and pancakes are synonymous... except in Japan where hotcakes are sweeter and lighter than pancakes.
jNk6M TIL the turd-rolling dung beetle navigates its way home using the stars.
1kjV TIL in 1997 former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial.
yWva TIL in 1888 a pigeon-fancier and a beekeeper challenged each others creatures to a 3.5 mile organized race in Germany. The bee won by 25 seconds.
J1n0l TIL Ellen Burstyn (mom in the original Exorcist) was stalked by her schizophrenic ex-husband who assaulted her in the 70s, but couldn’t legally file charges against him because that was not a crime then