› added 4 years ago

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TIL the first mention of the “white whale” in Moby Dick is nearly 200 pages into the book.

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XErb6 TIL that Léo Taxil, the journalist that "exposed" Freemasons as Satanists, admitted that it was an elaborate hoax over 12 years later. He once said, "I thought everybody would see the joke and give me credit for originating a new line of humor, but my readers wouldn't have it so."
LBad T.I.L. that a 61yr. old U.S. Navy vet Michael Boatwright was found unconscious in a motel room. When he woke up he only spoke Swedish instead of his native language English. He also insisted that he was a swede named Johan Ek and threw up when he saw his own reflection, in a state of confusion.
M1lm TIL in 1967 the Prime Minister of Australia mysteriously disappeared while swimming. He was pronounced dead 2 days later but no body has ever been found.
VMaW0 TIL that snapping shrimps (the family Alpheidae), which grow to only 3-5cm long, compete with sperm whales for title of loudest animal in the ocean. Their snaps are capable of stunning fish and breaking glass jars. In numbers, the shrimp can interfere with sonar and underwater communication.
loKva TIL that people from other countries also adopt American babies (referred to as an “outgoing adoption”) and the babies are primarily all African American