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TIL the smoot is a unit of measure named for Oliver R. Smoot, an MIT student who as a fraternity pledge was forced to measure the Harvard Bridge using himself as a ruler. A smoot is equal to five feet, seven inches.

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81R8 TIL when Emperor Justinian II was dethroned, his nose was cut off and he was sent to live in Crimea. 10 years later, he returned to Constantinople with an entire Bulgar army of 15,000 men to retake the throne. He beheaded the two Emperors that ruled while he was absent, now wearing a golden nose.
dDLKZ TIL many of Toyota's most popular cars were named after crowns. This includes the Crown and Tiara (both from the English words), as well as the Camry (Japanese for 'crown'), Corolla (Latin for 'small crown'), and Corona (Latin for 'crown').
0wdAR Possibly. The trees-down (or “arboreal”) hypothesis has been around for many years, says evolutionary biologist Richard O. Prum of Yale University. Researchers guessed that the scales of tree-dwelling Triassic reptiles elongated into feathers, which helped them leap away from predators. Once the proto-birds could glide, they were en route to avian flight. “It was like one big, crazy hairball of ideas all stuck together,” Prum says.
MeWpV TIL about Walter White -- no, not the Breaking Bad Walter White -- but Walter Francis White, a Black American NAACP activist who infiltrated hate groups because he was light skinned and investigated lynchings. He was instrumental in setting up the NAACP fund which fought segregation.
4V1a TIL Lebron James once went to a steakhouse, stayed 4 hours past closing, left a 1% tip on an $800 check, made the bartenders cry and even forced one bartender to quit.