› added 3 months ago

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TIL in 2006, Steve Wynn sold Picasso's painting La Reve for a $139 million, but before he sent it away, he invited friends over for a last look. While chatting in front of the portrait, he accidentally hit the painting with his elbow, leaving a silver dollar-sized hole and scuttling the deal.

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oBa1L TIL a number of roman era wooden tablets were found in Hadrian's wall in 1973. They contain correspondence of soldiers stationed there, including a birthday invitation written by a woman and a letter from a soldier's mom, telling him that she sents new pairs of underpants and socks
wepP TIL that up to 45 million Chinese were killed in the Chinese government’s “Great Leap Forward”. Punishment for stealing a potato would be death by drowning, and parents were forced to bury their children alive or be drowned in urine. This makes the Great Leap Forward the largest 20th century murder.
JYgxB TIL Hugh Jackman never knew wolverines were real animals; he mistakenly studied wolves in preparation for the iconic super hero role.
0w1yN TIL Virgin Media tasked 10 staff working around the clock to find 1 voicemail recording of an OAP's late wife, as he had lost it due to the system upgrade.
KObe4 TIL in 1846, Eremina desertorum, a snail, was collected and glued to a museum index card, presumed dead. 4 years later, the specimen was being looked at with warm water, when it suddenly awoke and looked around to see what was going on.