› added 11 months ago

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TIL that the two major political parties/groupings in Victorian Britain used gentlemen's social clubs as their official headquarters, complete with printing presses and mail franking, whilst horse-drawn cabs ferried MPs from the club to Parliament for votes in 8 minutes flat.

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awJ4J TIL the longest UN speech in history was delivered by Indian Defense Minister Krishna Menon in 1957. Defending India's stand on Kashmir, the speech lasted eight hours and ended with his collapse and hospitalization due to exhaustion
p8eDe TIL India has 3 foot long, multicolored squirrels.
xaPw TIL that the band The Postal Service was sent a cease and desist letter by the US Postal Service for trademark infringement of their name. After negotiations, the USPS allowed the band to use the name in exchange for playing a free show at their national conference.
ADQy7 TIL that the common tumbleweed (Kali tragus), although used in Westerns to symbolize frontier areas of the United States, is actually an invasive plant from Russia. In the 1870s, it appeared in South Dakota when flaxseed from Russia turned out to be contaminated with Kali seeds.
Zkka TIL The total value of unused store gift cards in the USA is over $44billion.