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TIL of Timothy Hunter, a DC Comics character created by Neil Gaiman seven years before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He wears glasses, lost his mother when he was young, discovered he was destined to be a powerful wizard, and has a pet owl.

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N7gX1 TIL that when Thomas Bopp discovered the comet through a friends telescope in 1995, he notified officials via telegram. The director later laughed and stated "Nobody sends telegrams anymore, by the time that telegram got here, Alan Hale had already e-mailed us three times with updated coordinates."
yRke TIL, The world’s biggest ever recorded turtle was a Leatherback Turtle that washed up Harlech Beach, Wales, in 1988. It was estimated to be 100 years old, and was almost 9 foot in length weighing a tumultuous 2,016 lbs!
obPY TIL that the Sydney Opera House actually has terrible acoustics. Edo de Waart, the former chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, once threatened to boycott the building. There is a A$202 Million project to renovate and improve the acoustics.
M7Qg7 TIL that a BBC variety program called "the Black and White Minstrel Show" — featuring white people singing and dancing in blackface — was broadcast until the late 1970s. Watched by 12-16 million Britons every week, it won awards and made it onto screens in many other countries, including Australia.
NXLBQ TIL that the Lipka Tartars (in Lithuania) used the Arabic alphabet to write in the Belarusian language until the 1930s.