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TIL that when Dylan Thomas (the Welsh poet) died, his widow had his body shipped from New York to Wales. While they were under way, she discovered a group of sailors unwittingly using the coffin as a card table. She decided not to say anything as she thought her husband would have liked it.

Read more dylanthomas.com

via reddit.com

W7aY9 TIL that the etymology of the Catskill Mountains in southeastern New York, USA, stems from Middle Dutch Kaaterskill, or Cat’s Creek. It was named so after all the creeks and large cats in the region when New York was New Netherland.
XEMmk TIL that there is a severe shortage of ‘spitter apples’ which are preferred for making ciders because during prohibition the FBI went around chopping down huge swaths of orchards, effectively erasing much of the nation’s stock of spitter apple trees that initially take 20-30 years to grow.
Eg5oV TIL the mechanical shark in Jaws (1975) broke down repeatedly, often sinking or falling apart. As a result, it was only shown 4 minutes on-screen, forcing Spielberg to rely on suspense tactics like POV shots and John Williams’ iconic score. This “failure” made the film scarier by hiding the shark.
x6jmb TIL that in 2003, metal singer Ronnie James Dio severed his thumb during a gardening accident when a heavy garden gnome fell onto it. Dio was concerned he would no longer be able to do his signature "devil's horns” hand gesture, but a doctor managed to re-attach it.
78ErL TIL Dick Seaman became a Nazi sporting legend after he was personally chosen to race for Mercedes-Benz by Adolf Hitler, and later died in a racing accident in 1939