› added 12 years ago

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TIL There’s a red, white and blue buoy marking the spot that Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry (inspiring him to write the Star Spangled Banner) in the Patapsco River. Picture in comments.

xVGY7 TIL that the letter "thorn", and the pronunciation was like the modern "th". It was used in the english language, evolving through out time to look like the letter "y"! So when you see "Ye old tavern" it's actually The Old Tavern!
GM9G TIL that the reason spiders’ legs curl when they die is that spiders use the blood pressure spike from their heartbeat to extend their legs out. When they die their heart ceases to beat and their legs curl.
v1GZD TIL Pope Stephen VI put the corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus on trial for illegally serving as a Bishop, seven months after his death. Finding the corpse guilty, they cut off three of his fingers, stripped his body of its Papal Vestments, and threw his corpse into the Tiber River. (Year 897)
D1PBJ TIL Of Billy Ray Harris, a beggar who was accidentally given a $4,000 engagement ring by a passing woman when she dropped it into his cup. He never sold it. Two days later the woman came back for her ring and he gave it to her. In thanks, she set up a fund that raised over $185,000 for him
R7pD7 TIL: There are approximately 600 million dogs in the world. It is estimated that nearly 400M of those dogs are strays. The United States has the highest pet dog population in the world. Approximately 75.8 million