› added 11 years ago

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TIL that J.R.R. Tolkien (author of LoTR) was a member of The Tea Club Barrovian Society whose nine members met regularly at the Barrow Stores in Birmingham, England, UK. Of the Nine, only two survived WW1. J.R.R. Tolkien was deeply traumatized by the loss of almost all his closest friends.

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kOLWB TIL that the earliest-living historical person known by name is Iry-Hor, a predynastic pharaoh who ruled over Upper Egypt in around 3200 BC. His dynasty is regarded in Egyptology as 'Dynasty 0' - the first out of 30 dynasties that reigned over Egypt.
1axxD TIL that in 1999, Shenmue became the most expensive video game ever developed at the time, with an estimated production and marketing cost of between US$47 and $70 million
Z8J6Y TIL the Soviet Government banned Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin from space flight after another Cosmonaut died in a crash, fearing the political impact his death would have. Gagarin requested that he be able to fly regular aircraft, which the government granted. He died five weeks later in a plane crash.
b9VjE TIL Caribbean sperm whales have a distinct culture. They are known to interact only with other whales with their own unique dialects and 'accents' which are variations of clicks unique to that area.
R7Mj4 TIL that a holocaust denial group promised $50,000 to anyone who could prove that gas chambers were used to deliberately kill people at Auschwitz. They were forced by a judge to pay that money plus an additional $40,000, to Auschwitz survivor Mel Mermelstein who provided proof of that very fact.