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TIL Michelin Tire Co. created the Michelin Guide and star ratings for restaurants in the 1900s to boost adoption of automobiles and, by extension, their tires.

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bV84 TIL that in 1976 the mayor of Montreal declared before the Olympic games that “The Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby.” He was wrong. Mismanagement and gross cost overruns left the city with $1.5 billion of debt that wasn’t paid off until 2006.
wowP7 TIL PFC Ralph H Johnson A US Marine was awarded the Medal Of Honor for his heroic action on March 5, 1968. While shooting the enemy from a fire hole, An enemy grenade landed in between him and his comrade. He shouted a warning before hurling himself upon the grenade. He saved the life of One Marine.
x6AOg TIL that there's an annual soccer competition, called the Muratti Vase, inaugurated in 1905, between teams representing the Channel Islands of Alderney, Guernsey and Jersey. Jersey won it 57 times, Guernsey 46 times and Alderney just once in 1920 and hasn't been to a final in almost 90 years
pyM8 TIL: In 1971, Hunter S Thompson ran for Sheriff of Aspen. His campaign included replacing the streets with grass, allowing controlled drug sales, and renaming Aspen “Fat City”. His candidacy was so strong that the other two candidates colluded in order to stop him from winning.
6e6l TIL Peter the Great, enamored of Western ways, encouraged cleanshavenness among Russians by imposing a tax on beards. Noblemen paid 100 rubles a year for a medallion that served as a beard license.