› added 10 years ago

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TIL that in 2004, J.K. Rowling became the first person to become a billionaire by writing books.

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pYaXZ TIL "Methinks the lady doth protest too much" is meant opposite to how it is used. It's not meant to doubt someone denying something, but rather someone proclaiming something. "Protest" (pruh-test) is a different word than (pro-test) that means to profess in favor. This is the origin of "Protestant"
WLGN TIL Astronauts on the Apollo missions reported seeing flashes and streaks of light when they closed their eyes. This was later confirmed to be caused by cosmic radiation bombarding their retinas while outside of the Earth’s magnetosphere.
JjV TIL One of Hawaii’s five active volcanoes, Kilauea, has been continuously spewing lava since 1983. It is the longest-lived volcanic eruption anywhere on Earth.
aOdM TIL Robert Ford, the “coward” who shot Jesse James in the back of the head, was afterwards charged with murder, sentenced to hang, and pardoned. All in the same day.
M7M1a TIL: The domestic cat is a revered animal in Islam and One of Muhammad's (PBUH) companions was known as Abu Hurairah (literally: "Father of the Kitten" PBUH) for his attachment to cats.