› added 2 years ago

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TIL that Robert Fulton's steamship was named North River Steamboat, and that the name it's popularly called today, Clermont, was due to an error in a biography of Fulton. No accounts of the vessel being called Clermont during Fulton's lifetime have been found.

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rRZGo TIL after losing the 1996 US presidential election, Bob Dole was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 1997. He began his acceptance speech with "I, Robert J. Dole, do solemnly swear... Sorry, wrong speech"
wLB9E TIL that marbles and other glass shaped through the technique of glass blowing are heated in a furnace known as the "glory hole". The term predates the more modern colloquial use of the phrase. It's use goes back as far as 1825!
M7ZnB TIL that Crab-eating Macaques that start conflicts with other Macaques show higher signs of stress such as scratching after the conflict. The troublemaker usually calms down when the macaques reconcile. Researchers theorize the aggressor is more worried about ruining partnerships than anything else.
Mnra TIL that an Italian mob pulled an elaborate heist involving olive oil, using adulterated and chemically treated oils and labelling their containers as extra virgin. The profit margin of this heist was said to have “three times the profit margin of cocaine.”
5V55P TIL that most FedEx Ground trucks on the road are owned and operated by a local businessperson, not FedEx Corporate, via FedEx's ISP, or individual service provider program. These ISPs are similar to franchisees and they buy a route, own the trucks, hire the drivers and get paid to deliver packages.