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TIL that in 1917 a French cargo ship full of high explosives exploded in Halifax Harbour. The explosion was so powerful that an 1100 lbs anchor shaft launched in the explosion flew over the entire town and landed in a field 4 kilometres away.

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p8BoG TIL J.K.Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was originally written for the charity Comic Relief. 80% of the cover price goes to charity, and sales of the book has raised $30 million since 2001.
9VED TIL I learned of the prankster Horace de Vere Cole. He once ruined a “pretentious and terrible play” by giving tickets for strategically selected seats to bald men. When the lights went up their shiny heads spelt out a swearword.
Z870D TIL before the age of alarm clocks, there was a job known as the “knocker up” where a man would tap on someones window with a long pole until they were awake. Often factories would hire men to ensure they made it to the knocker up position on time.
LQ5BV TIL of Charles Blondin, the world famous tightrope walker that crossed the Niagara Gorge on a 3.25 inch rope while performing various tasks including pushing a wheelbarrow, carrying a man on his back, and making an omelette.
nAD7 TIL in 1995, McDonald’s asked Greenpeace activists to stop criticizing their company publicly and instead do it only in private with their friends. Activists said they’d agree if McDonald’s stopped advertising its products and instead only recommended their restaurants privately to friends.