› added 3 years ago

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TIL that Americans spend around $72B in lottery tickets every year, with the chances of winning being less likely than getting attacked by a shark, being killed by a vending machine, being elected president, being struck by lightning, coming down with the plague, or being killed by a falling coconut

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NX4ZQ TIL Drake's Plate - a brass plaque initially believed to be inscribed & left by Sir Francis Drake at the site of his CA landfall & considered CA's greatest historic treasure at the time of its "discovery" - was a prank on historians by their peers that escalated out of control (despite many clues)
M7R87 TIL about Oliver Sipple a man who stopped an assasination attempt on US president Gerald Ford in 1975, however the news also told that this man was gay and because of that it generated great controversy, even so that the president only wrote a note thanking him and his family disowned him.
XEmK8 TIL of “The Custom of the Sea,” an old tradition among sailors where in dire circumstances, such as being stranded at sea and on the verge of starvation, the remaining sailors would all draw straws and whoever drew the shortest would then be killed and eaten to ensure the survival of the others.
KVPa TIL: Zack Galifianakis pays the rent for an apartment for a homeless women he knew growing up. He’s also taken her to two Hangover premiers as his date.
gbGA TIL “Made in Germany” was introduced by Britain to protect its people from “bad” import goods into the empire. But it backfired as most people noticed “Made in Germany” as a mark of quality instead.