› added 5 years ago

180

TIL that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings from 1937 to 1949, and that it wasn't published until 1955; in other words, it took 18 years for it to be completed and published.

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Nvl8 TIL a trained Beagle assistance dog was credited with saving the life of its owner after using her owner’s mobile phone to dial an emergency number.
rNd4d TIL of Ken Forsse, an Disney Imagineer whose company Alchemy II was put in charge of the animatronics on the Disney Channel show the Welcome to Pooh Corner. Nearly broke, the company switched to toys using the animatronic technology used in Disney rides. The result? Teddy Ruxpin.
6E4rW TIL in Japan, a home loses value from Day 1 — losing half its value in 10 years and becoming almost entirely worthless in 25. When a property is sold, the existing house is almost always razed and rebuilt. Even the most important shrines in Japan face regular rebuilding.
9YZX6 TIL that Cleopatra was not Egyptian. While Cleopatra was born in Egypt, she traced her family origins to Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I Soter. Ptolemy took the reigns of Egypt after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C. and he launched a dynasty of Greek-speaking rulers that lasted for three centuries
e1bk TIL that legionaries in the Roman Empire enjoyed considerable disposable income, enhanced by cash bonuses on special occasions such as the accession of a new Emperor. On completion of their term of service (25 years) they were given farmland and a discharge bonus equal to 13 years salary.