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R5aKl TIL that in 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to ban American Football after 19 college students died that year playing the game. In response, 62 colleges and universities met in New York City to discuss rule changes, where they formed the athletic association that would become the NCAA.
XE6r8 TIL an angry caller left Mike Judge a voicemail during Beavis and Butt-Head‘s original run, ranting how much he hated his show it in an incomprehensible accent. Judge found the caller hilarious and used him as inspiration for Jeff Boomhauer and his distinctive speech patterns in King of the Hill.
jNRAM TIL that in 1989, Ole Bentzen, a Danish audiologist, who was observing a screening of the 1988 comedy film A Fish Called Wanda, laughed uncontrollably to the point that his heart rate rose to an estimated 250–500 beats per minute, leading to a fatal heart attack
5xnQ TIL Twin popsicles were created during the Great Depression so that two children could share a treat for just a nickel.
0d4op TIL that invasive ants can destroy entire ecosystems, specially ones that have symbiotic relationships between trees and ants. The invasive species of ants can kill off the native ones, and the plants are left to fend for themselves -- leading to the destruction of an entire ecosystem.