› added 10 years ago

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TIL that salt and pepper are regarded as the two most important seasonings because the notoriously picky eater Louis XIV banned the use of all eastern spices beyond salt, pepper, and parsley.

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eAyg TIL “It’s a Wonderful Life” only became popular because tv stations could play it for free during Christmas season.
x4V0 TIL a man named Poon Lim survived 133 days at sea on an 8 square foot raft after his ship was sunk by a U-boat. To stay alive he drank the blood of animals he caught and at one point killed a shark with a jug of water.
jjKN TIL that diamonds are not rare or valuable and the reason demand is high is because of a marketing campaign by DeBeers to sell more engagement rings
p8jvN TIL while Car & Driver was testing the 1978 Porsche 911SC when it was new, the writer remarked that it could have been the last 911 and the last rear-engined Porsche.
mxdZM TIL that during a NASA auction in 1976, an intern called G. George bought 218$ worth of film roll. It turns out that they were original videotape recordings of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Sotheby's has since resold it for about 1.8 million dollars.