› added 8 years ago

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TIL that President John F. Kennedy secured for himself 1,200 Cuban cigars just hours before enacting the Cuban trade embargo in 1962.

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OGvOY TIL that when submarines were first introduced in European navies around 1900, Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, 1st Sea Lord of the British Navy, called them "underhanded, unfair, and damned un-English." He proposed that any submarine crew caght in wartime be hanged as pirates
vPE9j TIL The notion that lobster was such a low-quality food that prisoners in New England rioted if it was over-served and indentured servants had contracts stating they could only have lobster three times a week is actually a myth
epMMD TIL In the 1990's, the British Police tried to ban the Lotus Carlton and the government condemned advertising of the vehicle. It could reach 176mph and Police vehicles at the time could not keep up during a pursuit.
E1d1w TIL that the expression "Bob's your uncle" is thought to have originated with UK Prime Minister Bob Cecil, who made the unpopular choice of electing his nephew for an important position; while the nephew had some qualifications, "Bob's your uncle" was seen as the obvious explanation.
neVdW TIL Ray Bradbury took 9 days to write his novella, The Firemen, in the basement of a UCLA library on a typewriter rented for 10¢/30 minutes. After being urged by his publisher, he returned to the basement, got to work, and expanded his novella into Fahrenheit 451, which also took 9 days to write