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TIL that the character who sings the famous opera song “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” was said to be modeled on the real-life Sir Garnet Wolseley. Rather than being offended by the caricature, Wolseley would sing the song to amuse his friends.

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DQ1xY TIL of Masako Katsura, the "First Lady of Billiards". She was Japan's first professional female billiards player, and moved to the USA after marrying an American in 1951. There, she competed in the 1952 billiards world championship, becoming the second female contender ever and taking 7th place.
9OdM TIL prohibition made it a crime to produce, sell, or transport alcoholic beverages, but anyone who already had bottles of old liquor stocked away was free to consume them, so many rich people stockpiled reserves before the law passed
VBJ0k TIL of Walter Chandoha who photographed more than 90,000 cats in his lifetime, nicknamed "the one cat photographer to rule them all."
Mnom TIL a man staying in an inward-looking hotel room at Rogers Centre (Toronto) was caught masturbating during a baseball game in full view of the stands, thinking the windows were one-way. Patrons must now sign contracts stipulating that they will not perform lewd acts within view of the stadium.
N7NWP TIL that of the ten costliest atlantic hurricanes, only one occurred before the year 2000, and half occurred within the past 10 years.