› added 9 years ago

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TIL that MIT and CalTech maintain a “bitter” rivalry despite being 3,000 miles apart. Unlike most rivalries, it’s based largely on pranks–including the theft and transport of an antique cannon from one campus to the other, and the appearance of a “TARDIS” on top of a student hall.

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GOAE TIL that when the Chinese stopped killing sharks for sharkfin soup at the behest of Yao Ming, that people instead shifted to killing Manta Rays
X0M5E TIL about the Time Cube Theory, which was a bogus theory created by Otis Eugene Ray who claimed to be "the wisest man on earth", that a day actually consists of four simultaneous days
VMNrB TIL that Marvel's Star Lord was at one point not the only comic character to go by Star Lord. In 1978, a short lived British comic series called Starlord was published. Both Star Lords were not affiliated. However, Marvel's Star Lord debuted in 1976, making him the original, and the most popular.
VeDk TIL in 1968, 20-year-old Barbara Mackle was kidnapped and buried alive inside a box containing an air pump, a lamp, water laced with sedatives, and food. Two plastic pipes provided her with outside air. Her kidnappers demanded and received a $500,000 ransom, and she was rescued three days later.
9Y5b7 TIL that Benjamin Franklin used chess as a means of learning Italian. He would play games with a friend who was also studying the language. The winner of their match assigned a task to the loser; such as making them learn some Italian grammar, which had to be performed before their next match.