› added 7 years ago

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TIL: In a report from 2013, most of the funds raised by the NFL don't fund cancer research. In the end, after everybody has taken their cut, only 8.01% of money spent on pink NFL merchandise is actually going towards cancer research.

XEP9R TIL That Tracy Chapman, multi-platinum and four time Grammy Award winning artist, says she credits the inspiration to learn guitar as a child came from an American telivision variety show called "Hee Haw" that featured country music and themed backdrop. (corrected)
4kNlX TIL that in 1939, a test cricket match between England and South Africa lasted for 12 days. It was eventually abandoned so that the English team could catch a ship back to the United Kingdom. That was the last "timeless test". Modern test cricket matches end in a draw after 5 days.
W7MaN TIL Abraham Lincoln was attending a performance of the comedy "Our American Cousin" when John Wilkes Booth killed him. Booth timed the shooting with the show's funniest moment so that the crowd's laughter would drown out the sound of the shooting.
9Q0Q TIL that Philips and Sony designed their first audio CDs to hold up to 74 minutes to ensure they could hold a complete recording of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
w0YJ TIL that Warren Buffet is the second richest person in the US, and is worth $58 billion as of September 2013. Along with Bill Gates he is a leading philanthrocapitalist and has vowed that his children will not inherit any significant amount of his fortune.