› added 2 years ago

105

TIL in the Ottoman tradition, the throne did not automatically pass to the eldest son. Rather, potential heirs were expected to fight it out. As soon as the sultan died, the princes were plunged into a race for the throne. Whichever brother won the throne would have the other brothers executed.

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KejJ TIL that there are only 4 recorded instances of people being killed by orcas, all by captive whales - and 3 of the deaths involved the same whale, Tilikum.
D19ap TIL that entertainer Liberace was awarded £8,000 when he won a lawsuit against a British journalist who had described him as 'fruit flavoured'. It was at the time the largest libel settlement in British legal history. Liberace denied he was gay.
7rOnx TIL that the last VHS released by a major studio in North America was A History of Violence on March 14, 2006.
LQlVZ TIL: "Jumbo" was a male African bush elephant who was an attraction for PT Barnum. He was hit by a train in St. Thomas, Ontario and died. He was not named Jumbo because of his size; we got the word "jumbo" because of his name.
5YWwP TIL the British biscuit is an American cookie, an American cookie is a British cookie, and an American biscuit is a British scone.