› added 9 years ago

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TIL that a police detective offered to split a lottery ticket with a waitress at his favorite restaurant in Yonkers, NY in place of a tip. The ticket was a winner worth $6 million, which he split with her without hesitation. The event was made into a movie, “It Could Happen to You”.

KY05J TIL about the Faʻafafine people. They are people who identify themselves as having a third gender or non-binary role in Samoa, American Samoa and the Samoan diaspora. A recognised gender identity/gender role in traditional Samoan society, they are an integral part of Samoan culture
x6OWD TIL Benjamin Franklin, fascinated by compounding interest, left $2,000 in 1789 to Boston and Philly to loan to young artisans and grow for 200 years. Mismanagement diverted his vision, but the funds reached $6.5M by 1991, supporting public projects and showing the power—and challenges—of compounding
l7N5B TIL there are more mattress stores in the US than Starbucks locations
WR8L TIL: in 1945 a group of Soviet school children presented a US Ambassador with a carved US Seal as a gesture of friendship. It hung in his office for 7 years before discovering it contained a listening device.
9YPdG TIL in 1859 an American farmer in the San Juan Islands shot a pig who was eating his potatoes, but the pig happened to belong to a British colonist. The conflict escalated to involve 461 Americans & 14 artillery against 5 British warships with 70 cannons and 2140 men. The only casualty was the pig