› added 9 years ago

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TIL that after Boromir had a dream urging him to seek Rivendell to the north, it took him a hundred and ten days to arrive, just barely making it in time for Elrond’s council. Tolkien wrote that the “courage and hardihood required was not fully recognized by the narrative”.

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a8nNZ TIL that the opening and ending theme songs to "Mr Rogers Neighborhood" are never played exactly the same in any of its 900+ episodes. Each episode used the same medley for the first 8 bars, and the rest was improvised and recorded, live, by jazz piano virtuoso John Costa.
R7gW6 TIL that despite the common misconception, in most countries ship captains are not actually able to perform marriages, and the United States Navy had to make a rule specifically forbidding captains from doing so.
x0w7 TIL in 2014 a cat saved his young owner from being attacked by bullies. After they teased the boy outside his home and shoved him to the ground, the cat ran out, jumped on the ringleader’s chest and hissed until they fled in panic. The cat then slept outside the boy’s room every night to protect him
8alDG TIL Louis Armstrong tricked Richard Nixon into carrying several of his bags through customs for him. One of the successfully transported bags contained 3 pounds of marijuana, making Nixon an unintentional mule.
R54E8 TIL when Komodo dragons strike smaller prey, such as deer and pigs, 70% of the prey die within minutes, 20% die within four hours due to blood loss and only 10% survive.