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TIL Hutton Gibson, father of critically acclaimed actor Mel Gibson, is a Jeopardy champion and Holocaust denier. He also believes in 9/11 conspiracy theories and rejects the Second Vatican Council because it is “a Masonic plot backed by the Jews”.

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JYe8l TIL the first elephant in America was Old Bet, arriving in 1796. Capt Jacob Crowninshield bought it in Calcutta for $450 and sold it in New York for $10K. Old Bet was exhibited for years then sold to Hackaliah Bailey's circus. In 1816, Old Bet was shot in the eye and killed by a spectator.
6EMvZ TIL The Simpsons writer/producer Mike Reiss insists The Itchy & Scratchy Show is based on Herman and Katnip, which he calls a "cheap, ultra-violent knockoff" of Tom and Jerry. Director David Silverman supports this, stating Herman and Katnip "is hilarious because it's just bad."
wo66o TIL ecologists once thought Beaver dam-building was an amazing feat of planning, indicative of the high intellect. This was tested when a recording of running water was played in a field near a beaver pond. Although on dry land, the beaver covered the tape player with branches and mud.
e0oWg TIL Athlete, Marios Giannakou, Carried A Disabled Biology Student Named Eleftheria To The Top Of Mount Olympus, Her Dream
7l7x TIL although the stabbing death of indie rock icon Elliott Smith is widely believed to be a suicide his autopsy report lists his mode of death as “undetermined.” Hesitation wounds were absent, possible defensive wounds were found on his hands, and his name was misspelled on his suicide note.