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TIL that the Australian rower Bobby Pearce once stopped during a rowing race in the 1928 Olympics to allow a family of ducks pass, and still won out of eight competitors in that round

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via ift.tt

kOYad TIL of Robert Smalls, a slave who freed himself his crew & their families by overtaking Confederate ship, CSS Planter, and sailing it north. The ship contained a code book letting them pass CSA checkpoints. He became new captain of the ship & convinced Lincoln to admit African Americans to the Army
xVVmo TIL civil rights activist Effa Manley is the lone female member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
wLdxo TIL that grass makes you itch because thin nature of a blade of grass can cause microscopic scratches in your skin. When you sweat which contains salt touches tiny scratches and you itch.
lZlB TIL that there was almost another sequel after Batman and Robin, titled Batman Triumphant that saw Scarecrow as the main villain and the Joker as a hallucination in Batman’s mind caused by the fear toxin. The plot element would later be used in the Batman Arkham Knight video game
0QbL TIL that in the early years of baseball, it was common for players to go in the stands and assault heckling fans. Ty Cobb once attacked a handicapped man for calling him a “half-nigger.” Fans shouted at him to stop because the man had no hands, he reportedly retorted “I don’t care if he got no feet”