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TIL The odd quirk in the Presidential Line of Succession -- going from Executive Branch (Vice President) to Legislative Branch (President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House) -- was initially created to specifically keep Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, out of the line of succession.

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7rKbZ TIL Latvia's symbol of national identity is a rare breed of cow with light blue or dark ultramarine hides, dark meat and produce very little milk. Under Soviet times, the cow was considered useless and tried to breed other cow breeds to replace it, nearly driving the blue cow to extinction.
Mer8m TIL After not raising enough to fund the project, the Beatles' George Harrison put in 3 million of his own money to fund Monty Python's Life Of Brian, basically because he wanted to see the movie. It was later described by Terry Jones as the "world's most expensive cinema ticket" .
448w TIL in 1916 there was a lynching on a man with over 10,000 spectators, including children on lunch break. He was hung up over a fire and then had his body parts sold as souvenirs around town. Then a photographer sold his pictures of the lynching as postcards…
YbRW TIL a man avoided human contact for 27 years in the Maine wilderness. He committed more than 1000 burglaries, and faded into myth and legend. When asked if he was happy he replied “ No, I’m content. They’re two different things.”
v16xL TIL that, on August 31, 2001, a standoff ensued between two marijuana enthusiast campground owners and the FBI, leading to the two being shot dead on September 3rd. News of the events would soon be eclipsed by 9/11.