› added 11 years ago

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TIL from 1575 to 1578, expeditions from England to Canada brought back thousands of tonnes of black rock at huge expense of money and lives, after a Venetian alchemist lied about it containing gold ore. After discovering the true worth, it was used to build a wall around one of Henry VIII’s homes.

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B4Rb TIL John Quincy Adams was sworn into Office by placing his hand on a law book rather than the Bible
64VQ TIL Brandenn Bremmer was a genius–had an IQ of 178, read books at 18 months old, played the piano at age 3, and started college at age 11–who committed suicide at age 14 with no signs of depression, suicide note, or pressure to achieve from his parents
5YmmB TIL After Minnie Cox, the first black female postmaster was pressured out of her post, President Theodore Roosevelt continued to pay her salary and punished the town by rerouting their mail 30 miles away, in the end the atmosphere became so hostile that Mrs. Cox left for her own safety.
oMGA TIL that there are plans to turn abandoned parts of Detroit into a zombie apocalypse theme park
Z8Dxp TIL about Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. Had he remained the sole owner of his creation, he could have easily become the world’s first trillionaire. However, Berners-Lee graciously decided to hand over the Web to the world, no strings attached.