› added 11 months ago

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TIL that, in 1920s Paris, James Joyce would get drunk, start fights, and then hide behind Ernest Hemingway for protection, screaming, "Deal with him, Hemingway!"

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1a7OP TIL that a company in England accidentally sent letters to some of their wealthy customers that began “Dear Rich Bastard” and one customer complained who did not receive the letter because he felt that his wealth warranted the “Rich Bastard” title
8a9aV TIL that actress Olivia de Havilland, who got her first Oscar nomination in 1939 for her role in Gone With the Wind (at age 23), is still alive. She's 103.
womnY TIL about The Great Tantra Challenge, a live event in which Sanal Edamaruku, an Indian skeptic, challenged a tantrik to kill him with only magic. After multiple failed attempts, the tantrik claimed Sanal was under the protection of a powerful god, to which Sanal replied that he was an atheist.
Me1r8 TIL In the 3 volume 2000 page Principia Mathematica it takes until page 86 in Vol.II to prove that 1+1=2, a proof humorously accompanied by the comment, "The above proposition is occasionally useful."
MLAB TIL the US State Department charges a fee of $2,350 to any individual who wishes to renounce his or her American citizenship.