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TIL that a "white elephant gift exchange" gets its name from the legend of the King of Siam gifting rare albino elephants to those who displeased him in hopes that the upkeep costs would financially ruin them.

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xYkg TIL that, in 2007, Princes William and Harry asked Channel 4 not to broadcast a documentary featuring footage of their mother’s dying moments. Channel 4 broadcast the documentary anyway, then put out an additional programme an hour later to debate whether it had been right for them to do so.
vP4gB TIL of the Jewel Wasp who Zombiefies cockroaches with an injection to the brain and then leads the cockroach to its den like a pet to lay its larve in it that can feed on the fresh cockroach flesh when it hatches.
06bM TIL in 2007 CBS released a CSI toy which included a fingerprint dusting powder that contained up to 5% asbestos. Finally, 20 months after an asbestos victims’ organization made this fact public a recall was carried out.
b6pjE TIL that Taser is an acronym for "Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle". Jack Cover, the inventor of the Taser, was inspired by a young adult novel published in 1911 that features the namesake character and weapon.
rNAZe TIL Alex Trebek nearly became a priest. In college, Trebek considered becoming a priest and went so far as to spend a summer at a Trappist monastery. But it was the vow of silence that changed his mind. He later said, “I’m not one to keep my big mouth shut.”