› added 9 years ago

93

TIL Costa Rica is home to 10% of the world’s known butterfly species.

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Rd07 TIL that the name for the coffee company “Starbucks” comes from Captain Ahab’s first mate in the classic novel Moby Dick, who was named Starbuck.
kJj0g TIL that after the initial pitch for The Walking Dead was rejected for being too "normal", Robert Kirkman revised the pitch so that the zombie virus was caused by aliens to weaken humanity before an invasion. Kirkman had no intention of ever writing this into the comic, but this pitch was approved.
nnD7 TIL due to its pagan origin, the Christmas festival was banned in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681 by the Puritans as an illegal observance.
b8M9 TIL there is a Penny Lobby in the United States to keep the one cent coin in circulation even though it is produced at a loss. The lobby was hired by Jardin Zinc Products, who is the sole provider of penny blanks to the U.S. Government.
6E7nZ TIL 250 Union soldiers surrendered to the Confederates, enlisted in the Confederate Army while held as POWS, were recaptured by the Union Army, and then re-enlisted as Union soldiers. They were called Galvanized Yankees.