› added 5 years ago

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TIL The Earl of Barrymore was challenged to a race by a butcher who bet he could win if given a short start and choice of track. As he was overweight, Barrymore eagerly agreed. The butcher chose Brighton's narrowest lane and though the Earl quickly caught him up, he was unable to pass.

7ZAL TIL In 1918 A black man named Laurence C Jones survived a lynching attempt from a White mob by convincing them of his passion to educate Black kids. The mob ended up collecting money for his cause.
0dbRy TIL that a Persian King named Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ordered two servants to be executed for being too loud. But since it was a holy day, he delayed the execution by a day and made the servants return to their duties. The servants murdered the king in his sleep that night.
d8Ed7 TIL: Pirates were generally considered by the English government to be reserve naval forces, and were sometimes given active encouragement such as knighthoods. Royal pardons were regularly issued and the public's opinion of pirates was often favorable, some considering them akin to patrons.
9lPm TIL that if you have pink eye, a few drops of fresh breast milk can cure it almost instantly.
Mej5m TIL Psy, famous for Gangnam Style, stayed up late for about 30 nights to come up with the dance. He had tested various "cheesy" animal-inspired dance moves with his choreographer, including panda and kangaroo moves, before settling for the horse trot, which involves pretending to ride a horse.