› added 12 years ago

88

TIL Obelus is the proper term for a division sign.

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69L9J TIL the black spots seen on white fur worn by royalty are actually stoat tails.
8MeP TIL Bayer lost the rights to the brand names “Heroin” and “Aspirin” as punishment for German involvement in WWI. As a result they are now generalized terms.
YpZ9r Til that in 1992, a man named Stefan Mandel won a $27,036,142 jackpot, 6 second prizes, 132 third prizes, and 135 minor prizes in ONE lottery, by buying EVERY SINGLE COMBINATION possible - Over 5.5 million tickets. All 44 US states with lotteries have since changed their laws to prevent this.
9w5Rr TIL that in Spain, there is only one town whose name begins with the letter W, being the town of Wamba (Vamba), named in honor of the Gothic king of the same name postumatically.
BgBed TIL about the Academy Honorary Awards which are held separately to the Academy Awards. Recipients are rewarded for career achievements, contributions to the motion picture industry, and service to the Academy. They receive the same Oscar statue as the main Awards.