› added 1 year ago

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TIL that Philip M Thomas (of Miami Vice fame) coined the acronym EGOT - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony - stating he wanted to win these 4 awards within 5 years. He hasn't won a single one of them until now.

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glGD TIL that one of the most sacred shrines in Japan is torn down and rebuilt every 20 years. This has been going on for over 1,000 years, and some records indicate it may have started 2,000 years ago.
Z8xD TIL an 11 year study showed that diet cola is associated with a 2x increased risk for kidney decline. Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day.
rR1De TIL Blackbeard and his crew would lock themselves in the hold of the ship and light pots of sulphur to see who could last the longest without suffocating.
mxZVp TIL that Ernest Hemingway lived through anthrax, malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, skin cancer, hepatitis, anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure, two plane crashes, a ruptured kidney, a ruptured spleen, a ruptured liver, a crushed vertebra, and a fractured skull.
nerXd TIL The Triangle is theoretically an instrument of indefinite pitch, for its fundamental pitch is obscured by its nonharmonic overtones. Triangle parts in classical music can be very demanding and "the triangle is by no means a simple instrument to play"