› added 12 years ago

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TIL Tolkien didn’t write the Elvish languages to fit into the Lord of the Rings, but wrote the Lord of the Rings as a history for his over 15 different languages

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epaWD TIL that, contrary to popular belief, there is only one known instance where pirates buried their treasure. William Kidd buried his treasure on Gardiner Island before he was hanged. The myth of buried pirate treasure was later popularized by novels like Treasure Island.
v6XK TIL Billboards are illegal in Vermont
16gAr TIL Porters bringing tourists up 5,895m high Mt Kilimanjaro experience health issues caused by high altitude sickness. Their wages are fixed at $10 a day (some paid $6), while carrying 20 kilograms of baggage and camping gearing on the head
GYbYJ TIL that Popeye the sailor man was based on a real guy from Illinois.
9PL7 TIL that Operation DoubleCross was so successful for the British during WW2 that every spy the Nazis sent to Britain was successfully turned into a double agent.