› added 11 years ago

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TIL: After the Chernobyl disaster, the soviets held a “May Day” parade to calm the public. The parade was exposed to deadly levels of radiation and all records of the event soon disappeared from the National Archives. The organizer committed suicide.

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gQEW TIL John Cleese’s family name was originally Cheese, but his grandfather changed it to “Cleese” when he entered the military to avoid being picked on.
7rpZb TIL about "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of". Acxiom gathers information on some 700 m people, with up to 1,500 data points per person, for ultra targeted marketing. Down to the list of people who buy particular brands of cereal in your local supermarket.
1LaX TIL that the dying King George V was euthanised with morphine in 1936, according to doctor’s notes, to ensure that his death would be announced in morning papers and not in the “less appropriate” evening papers.
w5jM TIL if Kobe misses his next 5000 free throws in a row he will still have a better free throw percentage then Shaq.
gMxV7 TIL of the Mary Celeste, an American merchant ship found adrift by the Dei Gratia, intact & crew missing, in the Atlantic off the Azores in 1872, a month after leaving port. Though amply supplied and personal belongings intact, there was no sign of where or why they left. The crew was never found.