› added 5 years ago

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TIL that Rodney Dangerfield wrote a romance novel called La Contessa, that features his own face on the cover, and that he narrates himself.

XEQmQ TIL that Ocean floors are far from being a Plain & are full of relief features (Ridges, Mountains & other features) , Also the oceanic ridges are far younger than our continental rock structures
QJYPk TIL A roman consul was told before a crucial battle with Carthage that the auguries suggested he shouldn't go to battle, since the chicken didn't eat that day. Wishing to do it any way, he proclaimed "lets see if they will drink", and had the sacred chickens drowned. He fought and lost the battle
DQa5j TIL that during the 1980s, the Soviet Union conducted an experiment in which they used geese as guard animals for their missile bases. The geese were found to be better than dogs at detecting intruders because they were less easily distracted.
P1mLg TIL about King John of France who was captured by England in a war. Released to raise his ransom while his son Louis stayed as a hostage, John returned to captivity voluntarily when Louis escaped, stating, "If good faith were banned from the Earth, she ought to find asylum in the hearts of kings."
rNkJW TIL that there was a cat named Oscar who lived in a hospital, and he seemed to predict the death of patients by choosing to nap next to them a few hours before they died. Hypotheses for this include that Oscar was picking up on the lack of movement in such patients or that he could smell something.