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TIL James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake is named after a comedic Irish-American ballad called Finnegan's Wake, about a man who breaks his skull and is thought dead, but when whiskey is spilled on his body at his wake, comes back to life and joins the celebration

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GYmEJ TIL that Archimedes once said, "'Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." This is based on the law of the lever which has proven that by trading force for distance, a human could move the earth if they were given a long enough lever.
R7dD6 TIL of Le Viandier, a recipe collection credited to Guillaume Tirel, a master cook to Charles V, the oldest extant version of which is from the late 13th/early 14th century. It contains the first detailed description of an entremet, small dishes served between courses we'd refer to as dessert now.
b9kMp TIL That the famous deaf-blind writer Hellen Keller received a gift from a Japanese police officer who gave her an Akita dog named Kamikaze-Go as a present. After the dog's death Japan’s government gifted another Akita, making her the first person to bring the dog breed to the U.S. In 1948
VBAgp TIL: Antilia is one of the most expensive private residences in the world, costing over $1 billion. The billionaire had his entire family live in the 27 story home which requires 600 servants and has 168 car garage, 9 elevators, a theatre, pool, ballroom, and snow room. It was built on an orphanage.
rNaE1 TIL Wagner group named after Hitler's favorite composer