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TIL policeman Bob Geary used a dummy as his partner. A new police chief disallowed its usage, so Geary worked to put the usage of the dummy on the ballot. The referendum passed and Geary used the dummy until his retirement 7 years later, at which time the mayor declared the day "Officer Geary Day."

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NXXxN TIL in a study of “extreme relistening” researchers found that Bittersweet songs were listened to many more times than the other song types – on average 790 times, vs. 515 for Calm songs and 175 for Happy songs.
6E9QZ TIL the Eric Clapton song "Tears in Heaven" was written for Clapton's four-year-old son who fell from a window of a 53rd-floor New York apartment in 1991. He doesn't sing it live because he doesn't feel the loss anymore and he doesn't want those feelings to come back.
e0ZPb TIL: National Park size of Yosemite is under water bc of a dam. John Muir said it was the most beautiful place on earth.
DG4j TIL: Surgeons who play video games make 37% fewer errors and complete surgery 27% faster. Video game skills are also a strong indicator of some surgical skills.
WkAm8 TIL the worlds shortest mountain, Mt. Tenpo, is 20 m tall. It's only a mountain because it was described as one on a topographical map put out by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan. You can even get a certificate for summitting the mountain at a nearby cafe.