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TIL That the Smoky Mountains are home to a temperate rainforest on a section of the mountains near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Worldwide, this is a very rare ecosystem that is not experienced by many other locations on earth.

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EgZGW TIL Bobby Brown was kidnapped by New York street gang "the Preacher Crew" over a $25,000 drug debt in 1993 and Whitney Houston paid a $400,000 ransom to the gang, who threatened to kill him. The incident was never reported to authorities.
x6ob0 TIL: The word "bee" in Spelling Bee came from the context of communal labor (sewing bee, quilting bee, etc) like bees in a hive. It then developed to mean a social gathering for any specific purpose.
4a4g TIL A 2007 poll ranked poutine as the greatest Canadian invention, ahead of the election microscope
vJkr TIL… Handshakes were originally meant to make sure that the person you were meeting wasn’t carrying a concealed weapon. The hand clasp proved that your hand was empty and shaking was meant to dislodge any weapons hiding up the sleeve. Source: http://ift.tt/2dN6n8I
9OkX TIL a serial killer in New Orleans stated he would kill again on the night of March 19, 1919, but would spare the occupants of any place where a jazz band was playing. On that night, all dance halls reached capacity and amateur bands played jazz at hundreds of house parties. There were no murders.