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TIL that the trope of pirates saying "ARRR" was popularised by actor Robert Newton who played Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney film. In Treasure Island, Long John Silver is from the west country and so Newton took slang from the region and exaggerated it. "ooh arr" means "yes"

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nWnQb TIL that “heat lightning” is a misnomer. It is simply lightning from distant thunderstorms. Lightning can be seen up to 100 miles away in the right conditions, while the sound of thunder doesn’t travel nearly as far.
EgmgW TIL that outside the US and Canada, Duracell uses a pink bunny as a mascot. The Energizer Bunny was created in 1988 to mock Duracell, after Duracell’s pink bunny trademark in the US had expired. The two companies later agreed that Duracell would keep using a bunny mascot in other regions.
x6okB TIL about 4% of all stocks generated all $34.8 trillion in wealth for shareholders between July 1926 and December 2016. 96% of all stocks collectively performed no better than 1- month treasury bonds.
wrKJ TIL that a 2014 study found that mothers living within 10 miles of a natural gas fracking site were 30% more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects than those without.
oRmoL TIL Enigma's 1994 global megahit "Return To Innocence", plagiarized the polyphonic Amis language vocals of Difang and Igay Duana, indigenous people of Taiwan. They sued and Enigma settled for an undisclosed amount, acknowledging their writing and performing, and paying royalties going forward.