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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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Re19 TIL Rats can tread water for 3 days straight and hold their breath underwater for 3 minutes.
P1KwE TIL that in 1933, the state of Western Australian voted by a clear majority to secede from the Australian Federation, but at the same time, voted out a pro-seccessionist Premier in favour of the anti-seccession candidate. Efforts to implement secession were ultimately complex and unsuccessful.
KOvk4 TIL during production of the 1935 musical Cain and Mabel the film crew realized the sound stage wasn't big enough, but they didn't have time to rip the roof off and build the walls up, so WB put hand jacks around the it and raised it off the ground before building wall underneath it.
P178n TIL: The Sedlec Ossuary contains the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose bones have been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings such as a bone chandelier. Some arrangements were by a half blind monk in 1511. It is now a tourist attraction and featured in movies.
nWoed TIL that the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden is also a representation of The Sun as part of a series of sculptures and buildings representing The Solar Sytem all around Sweden