› added 11 years ago

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TIL that because Abraham Lincoln grew a beard (at the request of an 11 year old), Milton Bradley’s business of selling lithographs of the clean-shaven presidential nominee failed. Soon after, Bradley developed the boardgame, Life.

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mR4Y TIL that the day after German WW1 ace Oswald Boelcke died from a crash landing following a midair collision, British pilots dropped a wreath at his airbase which read: “To the memory of Captain Boelcke, a brave and chivalrous foe.”
wNvJ TIL A former dictator of of Myanmar thought 9 was his lucky number, so decreed that all currency denominations not divisible by 9 no longer had value, devastating the savings of much of the population.
1xeD TIL Tom Green won 5 Raspberry Awards for “Freddy Got Fingered” in 2002. He showed up in a white Cadillac, rolled out his own red carpet, and had to be dragged off stage because he wouldn’t stop play a harmonica.
Elj0 TIL that in 1934 undershirt sales dropped 80% after Clark Gable took off his button-down in It Happened One Night revealing his bare skin.
YDVA TIL that in 16th century England, beggars, thieves and other criminals developed their own language known as “thieves’ cant” in order to keep law enforcement from learning about their plans or habits