› added 13 years ago

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TIL that after Johnny Carson joked on air about an imaginary toilet paper shortage, Americans began hoarding toilet paper, “causing a real shortage that lasted for weeks” (3rd paragraph)

R7nK9 TIL the Guinness Book of World Records has vehemently refused to validate any attempt at the world record for the longest time spent awake, believing that it's dangerous to human health. The current record is 264 hours or around 11 days, which was set by a high school student as a science project
1GwD TIL that in Turkey boys aged 6 to 11 become a king for a day during their Sünnet Düğünü - a day of celebration for their circumcision that includes dressing like a king, eating sweets, receiving gifts, and partying with family, friends, and neighbors.
OoLb7 TIL Bootlegging, a popular term used during prohibition during the 1920s, apparently came into general use in the Midwest in the 1880s to denote the practice of concealing flasks of illicit liquor in boot tops when going to trade with Native Americans.
WN89 TIL that ‘Black Swan Theory’ is the idea that rare catastrophic events which are beyond the realm of normal expectation or predictability (but later inappropriately rationalized by hindsight) play a vastly larger role in the course of history than any predictable or foreseeable occurrence.
od4r TIL Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s father was named Homer, Mother was Marge, and had sisters named Maggie and Lisa. Bonus: His mother’s maiden name was Wiggum.