› added 12 years ago

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TIL Frankenstein was written due to a volcanic eruption. Because of all the ash in the sky, Mary Shelley and her friends would stay indoors and have contests of who could write the scariest stories. Frankenstein was the scariest.

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P1M7O TIL: According to British historian Niall Ferguson, out of all recorded conflicts which occurred since the year 387 BC, France has fought in 168 of them, won 109, lost 49 and drawn 10; this makes France the most successful military power in European history in terms of number of fought and won.
wLnAE TIL that most work to restore paintings is designed to be removable, so that future conservation efforts can undo any changes
0wvGy TIL Norwegian police has killed no more than 5 people the last 17 years, and only fired 33 rounds between 2002 and 2014.
6D7X TIL that officially the last words spoken on the moon were “God willing, we shall return.”, but were actually “All right, let’s get this mother out of here and go home.”.
ANPBw TIL in 1970, Sly and the Family Stone cancelled 26 of their 80 concerts and numerous others started late. In January 1975, the band booked itself at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The music hall was only one-eighth occupied, and Stone had to scrape together money to return home.