› added 9 years ago

78

TIL That Robin Williams great-great-grandfather was the governor of Mississippi from 1896-1900

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via reddit.com

ne4wd TIL that the Dutch East India Company paid its investors an 18% annual dividend for almost 200 years.
pYJ7e TIL that blowing out birthday candles increases the bacteria in the cake by 1400%
b9axE TIL of Rondo Hatton, voted 'Most Handsome' in high school but who later developed acromegaly, a disease that grotesquely altered his facial features. Falling into depression, he was spotted by a Hollywood director and offered a film role, which Hatton then parlayed into a long career in horror films
GAe1J TIL during 1904 Olympics men's marathon winner was disqualified as he rode in a car for part of the race. The actual winner was near collapse and hallucinating, an effect of being fed brandy, raw eggs, and strychnine by his trainers. The fourth-place finisher took a nap after eating spoiled apples.
gMNY4 TIL Women's Rights aren't Constitutionally protected in America. The amendment was proposed almost 100 years ago and took about 50 years to be passed by Congress. It has been almost 50 since then and the amendment still hasn't been ratified by enough states to pass.