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TIL John Quincy Adams had a pool table installed in the White House that he enjoyed playing most days. Something his opponents and some dignitaries found scandalous.

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mxj9o TIL that Dr. Barry Marshall was convinced that H.pylori bacteria causes stomach ulcers, but no one believed him. Since it was illegal to test his theory on humans, he drank the bacteria himself, developed ulcers within days, treated them with antibiotics and went on to win the Nobel prize.
E7Mx TIL that when the Duke of Wellington attended a party in Vienna, some French officers turned away from the conqueror of Napoleon. When a woman apologized for their rudeness, Wellington replied “I have seen their backs before, madam.”
vPw0r TIL Max Planck, the father of quantum theory, considered his quantum hypothesis just a mathematical trick to get the right answer rather than a sizable discovery until Einstein interpreted his hypothesis realistically and used it to explain physical phenomena.
neyZo TIL Altoids tins (The mint containers) are used as makeshift casings for custom electronics. Texas Instruments even makes a open source computer board called BeagleBoard with rounded corners to more easily fit into an Altoids tin.
P1Pxw TIL that Oscar Wilde did boxing whilst at university, and once defeated by himself, four students who attempted to ambush Wilde.