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84

TIL the Baghdad Pact was a NATO type alliance between the UK, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan until 1979

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x6N75 TIL after William Jennings Bryan finished his Cross of Gold speech, the audience was completely silent. Bryan said that it was "really painful" and that he thought he had failed, but when he returned to his seat the entire audience went into pandemonium and it took 25 minutes to restore order.
7rmWL TIL that Leo Tolstoy, Jules Verne, and J.R.R. Tolkien all spoke Esperanto, a 'universal' language created in the late 19th century.
OGj61 TIL that Germany has a formal political position for the leader of whatever political party is losing, known as the Leader of the Opposition (Oppositionführer). They are still a part of the Bundestag parliament even though they are not in government.
kx4m TIL George Lucas, fearing his film’s failure, traded Steven Spielberg 2.5% of earnings of ‘Star Wars’ for that of 'Close Encounters’. Spielberg has made $40 million to date.
oBQVE TIL the world record for “Simon” was broken last year and currently stands at 84 sequences.