› added 9 years ago

565

TIL That pistachios can spontaneously combust.

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j6VZQ TIL that before the Gregorian calendar went into effect in 1582, leap years were created differently. Instead of adding an extra, separate day to the end of the month (February 29th), they doubled February 24th during leap years, resulting in two consecutive days with the same date.
neB8W TIL that in 1975 A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess wrote an early draft script for The Spy Who Loved Me which climaxed with James Bond using acupuncture to foil hippy terrorists
VB1Am TIL that in 1984, the Japanese Army Veterans Association, in an attempt to refute wartime atrocities, interviewed former WWII soldiers. Instead of denial, the soldiers freely admitted and described atrocities committed, resulting in the association publishing an apology the following year.
kO6Vd TIL that there is an ongoing dispute over ownership of the Budweiser trademark between two beer companies, one from the Czech Republic and one from the United States. The dispute has been ongoing since 1907 and has involved more than 100 court cases around the world.
E4KV TIL Francis Marion, the basis for Mel Gibson’s character in ‘The Patriot’, had, “A reputation as a racist who hunted Indians for sport and regularly raped his female slaves” as described by famed Historian Christopher Hibbert.