› added 5 years ago

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TIL that in 1962, elephant bones were discovered under the Vatican. Decades later, it was discovered that they were the bones of Pope Leo X's pet elephant Hanno, who died in 1516 after doctors (in an attempt to treat constipation) inserted a gold enema up its rectum.

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m54Y TIL firefighters used to dip their beards in water and breathe through the wet hairs clenched between their teeth before breathing apparatuses were invented.
pY0Y8 TIL at least 1/3 of the Great Barrier Reef is already bleached
8eQpZ TIL of Peter Badcoe, an Australian infantry officer fighting in the Vietnam War who received the Victoria Cross from Australia; then a Purple heart, Silver Star and Air Medal by the USA; and then a National Order plus at least two Crosses of Gallantry by the Republic of South Vietnam.
yVlk8 TIL John Morales, the actor who played the crime-fighting cartoon character McGruff the Crime Dog, was sentenced to 16 years in prison stemming from a 2011 arrest in which police seized 1,000 marijuana plants, 27 weapons – including a grenade launcher – and 9,000 rounds of ammunition from his home
R7EJw TIL the original Jake from State Farm actually worked at State Farm as an insurance agent. He was replaced in 2020 as the company thought the role was "best filled by a professional actor." He appeared in a cameo in the updated commercial.