› added 2 years ago

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TIL The US Postal Service had an unofficial mascot, Owey the dog, who was a welcome addition in any railway post office; he was a faithful guardian of railway mail and the bags it was carried in, and would not allow anyone other than mail clerks to touch the bags

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QNnPa TIL "In 1956, the students of the Pasadena Playhouse School of Theatre arts voted two actors as the least likely to succeed: two friends, Gene Hackman (who had the lowest grades at that point in the history of the school) and Dustin Hoffmann. Both went on to win two Oscars each
Oom0R TIL Pres. Jimmy Carter was fishing in his hometown of Plains, GA in a boat alone. A rabbit chased by hounds jumped in the water and swam towards him, trying to board. The event was sensationalized by press and critics framed the event as emblematic of Carter's presidency as hapless and enfeebled.
4Xxnw TIL that the bullet lodged inside President Garfield likely didn't cause his death. At the time, Joseph Lister's ideas about germs had been widely accepted in Europe, but American doctors were still sceptical. Garfield's doctors used unsterilised instruments, causing an infection which killed him.
VyOZ TIL that Wayne Gretzky, despite not having played hockey since 1999, still holds or shares 61 NHL records.
ObYR TIL that a “fossil word” is a word that is generally obsolete but remains in use because it is part of an idiom. For example, amok as in “run amok”, or turpitude as in “moral turpitude”.