› added 5 years ago

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TIL the song “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was supposed to be a ballad, but during a recording session, Hawkins “screamed and grunted” through the whole song because he was drunk. It was his most-successful recording and is in The Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

5Yy99 TIL about the Tanuki, a Japanese folklore creature that is referred to as the Raccoon Dog. Its most distinguishing characteristic is their large, magical pair of testicles that it used as a hat, umbrella, boat or drum. They are known as tricksters or bringers of good luck.
QJrX9 TIL that in 2016 a London Zoo gorilla drank five litres of blackcurrant juice after escaping enclosure: ‘Kumbuka’, a male silverback, sparked an armed police response after his break out bid on 13 October
vvEx TIL because they had banned nuclear power, New Zealand refused to let US warships dock in their waters. This led to a ban on NZ ships at U.S. defense and coast guard bases around the world, and being considered “a friend, but not an ally” for 26 years.
gM0jy TIL we don't actually know what William Shakespeare looked like. All remaining portraits of him were produced after his death. There are no surviving written descriptions of what he looked like either.
EgYgo TIL that Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry has bred nearly 8,000 chicks annually (around 20 a day) as part of a Chicken Hatchery exhibit since 1956. The chicks are kept on exhibit for Museum Visitors to view for a week. After that, most are fed to animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo.