› added 3 years ago

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TIL in the early 1890s one man released 100 European Starlings in New York City, which have grown to 200 million today as an invasive pest. The story goes he wished for all birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works to reside in America.

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mX6P TIL that in 1992, you couldn’t be a police officer in Texas if you had “sexual contact with a member of the same sex since age 15,” or any sexual contact with “an animal or fowl since age 17.”
kJa4W TIL that Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings is the third richest film director in the world with a net worth of $1.5 billion USD
R7Vww TIL that Stan Lee used alliterative names like Peter Parker and Reed Richards because he has a poor memory - having first and last name start with the same letter made them easier to remember
pKXb TIL the 1679 Habeas Corpus Act was only passed in Parliament because its supporters jokingly counted a fat lord as ten votes and the opposition never noticed.
OGZYY TIL that at the North Pole there is no local time since all lines of longitude, and thus all time zones, converge there. The sun rises, and sets only once per year, meaning that the sun's position could also not be used to synchronise time.