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TIL Bill Clinton gave the 1994 State of the Union Address completely from memory. When he saw the wrong speech had been uploaded to the teleprompter, he quickly recovered and said “I’m not at all sure what speech is in the teleprompter tonight, but I hope we can talk about the State of the Union.”

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ADgMn TIL After Hurricane Katrina, a group of Benedictine monks in Louisiana began selling low-cost, handmade cypress caskets. The state’s Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors issued a cease-and-desist order, claiming that only funeral homes could sell caskets. A judge ruled in favor of the monks.
P1JPw TIL of The Niagara Escarpment. The escarpment is the cliff over which the Niagara River plunges at Niagara Falls, for which it is named.
xVbJb TIL that in 1978, a year after smallpox was eradicated worldwide, the virus escaped from the lab of professor Henry Bedson. It infected two last patients, including the last person to ever die of smallpox. Bedson, who had been working to rid the world of smallpox, killed himself the next day.
ZvXG TIL the idea that suicide is more common during the winter months is actually a myth, rates peak during the spring and summer. Considering depression rates are highest during winter, it’s theorized that the relative cheerfulness of spring/summer finally gives people the motivation to commit suicide.
gMv99 TIL Yousuf Karsh, the photographer of the scowling Winston Churchill portrait took the photo after snatching Churchill's cigar while he was smoking it.