› added 1 year ago

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TIL Drake's Plate - a brass plaque initially believed to be inscribed & left by Sir Francis Drake at the site of his CA landfall & considered CA's greatest historic treasure at the time of its "discovery" - was a prank on historians by their peers that escalated out of control (despite many clues)

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via reddit.com

PYw7n TIL in the early 1900’s, Idaho potatoes were used only for hog food until a railroad superintendent found that they were delicious when baked. Celebrity endorsements, a song and a 40ft potato shaped sign (with electric winking eyes) soon followed and the "baked" potato became mainstream fare.
yGXJ TIL that in a 2000 lawsuit between Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, a federal court ruled that “better ingredients” do not, in fact, make “better pizza”.
wLjlE TIL that even though people say "pull out all the stops" to mean doing it extravagantly, it originates from the pipe organ. Stops (think of plugs) were put in the pipes to adjust volume. To really let her rip and be as loud as possible, one would pull out all the stops.
9Yx7D TIL a book claiming "Koreans have less morals than the beasts and birds" sold over 470,000 copies in Japan and became the best-selling non-fiction title in 2017.
WxGo TIL Joss Whedon wrote 98.9 percent of the dialogue for the movie Speed, uncredited