› added 12 years ago

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TIL that Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used to be friends. The two had a falling out after Doyle refused to believe that Houdini wasn’t actually capable of magic.

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rR6v4 TIL that the United States' first department store was created in Utah, and lasted around 130 years before being sold to the Macy's Corporation
b9a1p TIL of Kari's Law. In 2013 a woman was murdered in a hotel room by her husband while her nine-year-old daughter tried to call 911 four times. The calls did not go through because the hotel phones required all calls to start with 9 (making 911 9911). The law removes the need for the 9 in hotel phones
W7ddL TIL that Golems, which are popular creatures in many fantasy games and media, originate from Jewish folklore. The most famous Golem narrative in Jewish folklore comes from late 16th-century Prague and involves the creation of a Golem to protect the Jewish community.
p8RGN TIL that in an attempt to make his spy novels feel more authentic, author John Le Carré is credited with coining a number of terms for his fictional intelligence agency (terms like mole, honey trap, pavement artist, asset babysitter) which have become common terms used in real intelligence agencies.
GYaYj TIL that there are more historic artefacts under the sea than in all of the world’s museums.