› added 2 years ago

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TIL while walking in Manhattan’s Central Park that each lamppost has a set of numbers at the base. The first 2-3 numbers indicate the closest cross street, and the last number indicates what side of town you’re closest to. An odd number indicates you’re on the west side, and even means east.

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XjL6 TIL Louis XI of France once pardoned a man sentenced to death on condition that he serve as a guinea pig for a gallstone operation.
gMnpL TIL by Special Congressional edict, George Washington is considered the senior-most military officer of all time, meaning no other US military officer can ever outrank him.
OYXe TIL the U.S. is the only country that does not dip its flag to the host country at the Olympics opening ceremonies. When the U.S. flag-holder was asked to do so for King Edward VII at the 1908 London games, he supposedly responded, “This flag dips to no earthly king.”
QJ7kk TIL of an 18th century racehorse named Potoooooooo, originally named Potato by his owner. A stable boy was instructed to write the horses' name on a feed bin, which he spelled Potoooooooo (Pot-8-Os). The owner was so amused that he adopted the spelling. Potoooooooo amassed 34 wins over 7 years.
5YrD8 TIL Ross Perot had a Sesame Street character named "H. Ross Parrot." When asked to comment Perot said, "1) the nose is too small. 2) it's not a real Texas accent. 3) my family loves it, my grandchildren love it." and ""I'm sure that parrot thinks he's much better looking than I am."