› added 9 years ago

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TIL the word cereal comes from the the Roman goddess Ceres, and her association with edible grains.

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oBWe8 TIL an American man who made a fortune off the newly invented typewriter, built a mansion on Carleton Island in New York state in 1895. After the property was bult, he spent one night in it and then died of a heart attack. The mansion has now been empty for almost 100 years, yet still stands.
e0mb6 TIL that the last major outbreak of the black death in Europe was in 1720 in the port of Marseille, France. The merchant ship the Grand-Saint-Antoine was the culprit, and despite it having been quarantined, business men pressured the government to allow it into port because of its precious cargo.
VMMJ4 TIL Elvis Presley asked president Nixon for a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs - which he was given and therefore basically made him an undercover DEA agent
yVP8V TIL that "Hydrophobia" is often mistaken with "Aquaphobia" and that true Hydrophobia is a symptom of a human rabies infection.
Y77QG TIL that J. W. Westcott II Is The Only Floating Post Office In The US