› added 6 years ago

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TIL that Muhammed Ali was first directed to take up boxing at the age of 12 after his bicycle was stolen. Police officer and boxing coach Joe E. Martin met him fuming over the theft. Ali told Martin that he was going to “whup” the thief. Martin told him that he had better learn how to box first.

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pZL8 TIL that the bar tab of a 1787 farewell party for George Washington is still intact. “According to the bill… [The Founding Fathers] drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, 8 of whiskey, 22 of porter, 8 of hard cider, 12 of beer, and 7 bowls of alcoholic punch”. The party had 55 attendees.
gLAD TIL Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) converted to Catholicism after playing a Catholic priest in a film. While filming Father Brown in Burgundy in 1954, Guinness was in costume as a Catholic priest, and was mistaken for a real priest by a local child. He converted in 1956.
OoPre TIL of the Great American Horse Race of 1976 - a 3,500 mile long race with over 100 contenders mainly riding thoroughbred stallions. The winner ended up being Lord Fauntleroy, a mule ridden by a teenager, who beat the second place finisher by nearly 10 hours.
9Y0kQ TIL that when people are in isolation, there is an inflection point where the frustration and hardship of being cooped up inside gets suddenly harder to bear: 'the third quarter'
Bmvr TIL That a “Hearing Protection Act” has been introduced which would remove the heavy taxes and wait periods for firearm suppressors, letting them be purchased like guns.