› added 9 years ago

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TIL the extinct Passenger Pigeon bird went from being the most abundant bird in North America and possibly the world during 19th century, to extinct in 20th century due to massive hunting and habitat destruction. Martha, the world’s last passenger pigeon, died alone in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo USA

nerDY TIL that on 12th April 1945, for their last performance before the end of WW2, the Berlin Philharmonic performed Wagner's 'Götterdämmerung' - Twilight of the Gods - while the Hitler Youth distributed cyanide pills to the audience so they could kill themselves.
w64P TIL that the first casualty of the Battle of Hastings was William the Conqueror’s jester. He allegedly taunted the English army by juggling his sword and was promptly killed for the display.
ADyba TIL that Clara Blandick, who played Aunt Em in the Wizard of Oz, killed herself by overdosing on sleeping pills and tying a plastic bag around her head. She also left a suicide note saying she could no longer live with the pain or face going blind
GYydg TIL in the 1970s on Sesame Street, Herve Villechaize better known as Tattoo from Fantasy Island, performed Oscar the Grouch as a pair of legs peeping out from a trash can for scenes which required the Grouch to be mobile.
yVkwM TIL that according to Guinness World Records, the largest church in the world is not Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Instead, it is the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in the Ivory Coast, which measures 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) in area.