› added 4 years ago

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TIL Blackbeard is most famous for his legendary blockade of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. In 1718, Blackbeard entered Charleston Harbor in his ship known as Queen Anne's Revenge with three smaller ships. He proceeded to plunder five merchant ships entering or leaving the harbor.

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8eBkb TIL: Loneliness is associated with increased risk of developing Parkinson disease.
9w5yD TIL that “the beard second” is a unit of length, defined by the distance an average beard hair grows in one sec. Inspired by & parodying the light year, it’s generally considered to be five nanometers, as a “standard” beard grows about 15cm (6 in) per year.
EvdW TIL the USSR had a televised song contest. Since few people had phones, viewers would turn their house lights ON if they liked a certain song (OFF if they didn’t). The state energy co. recorded the size of each power spike & reported the results to the station to determine points for each contestant
yQLXe TIL: In 2008, A man died in a traffic accident in Seoul. In order to identify him, his DNA was analyzed & revealed that the DNA of his blood, along with some of his organs, appeared to show that he was female. It was later determined that he had received a bone marrow transplant from his daughter.
9w4er TIL Chess.com Restricts Draw Offers In Prize Events - "In no other game or sport is it possible for competitors to decide at any point in the game to agree to a tie. In the spirit of competition, we’re looking to eradicate this phenomenon."