› added 5 years ago

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TIL In 1670 a native american tribe decided to travel to Europe to sell pelts after being scammed by colonists. They spent months building a fleet of ships only to have rough sea destroy it as soon as they began the voyage, the natives were saved by the British who then sold them into slavery.

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rKnw TIL that when the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was passed, only the birdseed industry successfully lobbied against it by arguing that hemp seeds gave birds shinier feathers than other seeds. Because of this, birdseed producers are legally allowed to import hemp seeds into the US (deactivated) today.
wLN46 TIL Steely Dan's 1973 track, "My Old School" refers to then Dutchess County prosecutor, "Daddy G" who is none other than G. Gordon Liddy of Watergate fame
BgEaD TIL about the North Sea Flood of 1953, when a night time storm surge overwhelmed sea defences in the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, and eastern England and Scotland, with a mean flood height of 5.6m/18'4" over sea level, resulting in over 2,000 deaths on land and over 200 at sea
NNMe TIL Foxes behave like catdogs, because they are canines that share the same ecological niche as cats (catching small prey favours specific behavioral traits, convergent evolution)
loGRr TIL that due to his acting roles in many Marvel movies, the late Stan Lee is the highest-grossing actor of all time. With a total box office gross as an actor at $30,617,384,366. The second highest grossing actor is also a Marvel movie star, Samuel L. Jackson of Nick Fury fame.