› added 12 years ago

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TIL That the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t lawfully exist. Congress never created it. The Dept. of Treasury created it via a Treasury Order, which was cancelled in 2005.

M7rxb TIL that the US government no longer uses the term Unidentified Flying Object (UFO), the preferred term is Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP, which previously stood for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), since UFOs are a source of ridicule due to their popular association with alien spacecraft
XENWP TIL that turkeys were not brought to Europe until 1550. The popular image of a medieval king feasting on a large turkey leg is an anachronism.
AND1w TIL James Cameron was refused permission by the Picasso Estate to use Les Demoiselles d’Avignon but he used it anyways. Its depiction in Titanic suggested the painting sank to the bottom of the ocean did not please the Picasso estate
9br7 TIL The Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated every year on 10 November in a cake-cutting ceremony where the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present. The celebration includes a reading of Commandant Lejeune’s Birthday Message.[
VM9mp TIL the last duel in France took place in 1967 between Gaston Defferre and René Ribière, following an argument in the French National Assembly. Ribière demanded satisfaction by duel with swords after Defferre refused to apologise for yelling, "shut up, stupid!" Ribière lost the duel.