› added 4 years ago

120

TIL a US company tried to patent Basmati rice (traditional rice of India)

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XErEE TIL that after Usain Bolt broke the 100 m world record at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, the mayor of Berlin awarded him a 12 foot long, 6000 pound piece of the Berlin Wall. Bolt accepted and it is now housed at the Jamaica Military Museum.
b6ZON TIL After deposing the English monarchy, the English Republic went on to shut down all theatres, forbade entertainment and banned Christmas. These were eventually unbanned when the Monarchy returned to britain
8LXP TIL that California uses inmates to fight forest fires. Prisoners take the jobs because it reduces their sentence, gets them outside, and pays better than typical prison jobs.
J17bV TIL that Chris Ballew, best known as the lead singer of The Presidents of the United States of America, released over twenty albums of children’s music under the pseudonym Caspar Babypants.
4XkVg TIL that New Jersey received the first area code, 201, and D.C. received the second area code, 202, because the number 1 was not used office directories and the leading single pulse made by 1 was automatically ignored 1940s telephone equipment.