› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the Teddy Bear was named after Theodore Roosevelt when a political cartoon was released showing his refusal to kill a helpless bear deeming it "unsportsmanlike".

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VoO4 TIL a convict from Port Arthur (Tasmania, Australia) disguised himself as a kangaroo and tried to flee, but the half-starved guards on duty tried to shoot him to supplement their rations.
9YeWm TIL about the Freedom Summer Murders, where 3 Civil Rights workers were abducted and killed by local law enforcement. Despite sufficient evidence, the state of Mississippi refused to prosecute the perpetrators, and some were only convicted of Civil Rights violations and served little time in prison
p8vO TIL that the Sundance Film Festival takes place at the Sundance Resort, which is named after the Sundance Kid, who did time in Sundance Jail in the town of Sundance, Wyoming, which took its name from the Sundance practiced by certain Indian tribes.
VBRE8 TIL I learned that the the town of Boring (Oregon, US) established relationship with village of Dull (Scotland, UK) in 2012; the following year they were joined with the Shire of Bland (New South Wales, AU) to form the League of Extraordinary Communities.
grVlD TIL in the 1980s, parents were upset at a Seattle firm about phone bill charges after a half-hour show featuring Santa told children to hold the telephone up to the TV whereupon touch-tone sounds would dial a 1-900 number. A spokesman said this was to prevent children from dialing the wrong number.