› added 4 years ago

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TIL when future US President Herbert Hoover was born in 1874, his father announced the news by saying, "We have another General Grant at our house!", referencing the incumbent chief executive. This rural Iowan blacksmith would die nearly fifty years before his son fulfilled the prediction.

941B TIL that atheist organizations have been granted tax exempt status, under the same law that grants it to churches. “Moreover, the IRS cites to a number of cases where state and federal law have recognized non-theist organizations as tax-exempt religious organizations"
YpR4x TIL On average, globally, pizza took longer to deliver than cocaine. 30% of people who had cocaine delivered said it arrived in less than 30 minutes, compared to 16 % who had pizza delivered in less than half an hour
WPRN TIL: When the wife of industrialist James Couzens asked for a pearl box, he donated the equivalent to $14M to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. In her empty box was a note saying, “Your new pearls will be all the children who are eventually treated there”.
neQO7 TIL sometimes Spitfires had to taxi to the take-off position with a person sat on the tail. In 1945 a pilot forgot about this and took-off with mechanic Margaret Horton clinging on the tail. The pilot realized that his aircraft wasn't handling correctly and landed with Miss Horton still on the tail
0wDaA TIL that there have been reports of "Earthquake lights" dating back to 869, where lights are said to appear in the sky near areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity or volcanic eruptions. Although skeptics will point to the lack of confirmed documentation