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TIL Walt Disney’s mother, Flora Disney, died from a gas leak attributed to a faulty furnace that Walt had installed in the home he bought both parents. She was found collapsed in the bathroom; her husband fainted while trying to get her out.

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nWvDP TIL that as revenge for Oscar Wilde being in a relationship with his son, The Marquess Of Queensbury planned to present Wilde with a bouquet of rotten vegetables at the opening night of The Importance Of Being Earnest, Wilde’s hit play. But Wilde was tipped off and stopped Queensbury getting inside.
7rj1O TIL the lone Supreme Court justice to dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson grew up in a household with a light-skinned, blue-eyed slave who was treated much like a family member. The slave, Robert Harlan, was believed to be John Harlan’s older half-brother. Even John’s father believed Robert was his son.
awpXo TIL that the question of if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable made it to the Supreme Court in the case Nix v. Hedden (1893). They decided that, for tariff purposes, it is a vegetable.
d80OZ TIL that a deep sea snail known as the Scaly-Foot Gastropod, which was only recently discovered in 2001, has a shell so well constructed that the U.S. military is researching its design, hoping to incorporate its defensive layers to improve military armor.
awxgN TIL that Tom Hanks stole his mannerisms for Forrest Gump, for which he won an oscar for best actor in 1995, from his younger brother Jim Hank's performance in the low budget film Buford's Beach Bunnies.