› added 3 months ago

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TIL Scribes at the chancellery of Florence were allowed to use their superior's signature when drafting office mail. Niccolo Machiavelli's signature appears on chancellery mail even after 1512, the year he was fired and replaced, believed to be "a subtle act of defiance" towards their new boss

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Q5DX TIL that 8 people each bought an app for $1000 which did nothing but display a mantra
Jeej TIL in ‘92, a ship from China lost 29,000 rubber ducks in the Pacific Ocean. After some washed ashore in Alaska, oceanographers started tracking their progress to learn about ocean currents. Ducks were found in Asia, Australia, the Americas, even Europe. Some were frozen in the Arctic for 15 years.
0wAkN TIL that the cleat on a tape measure is loose for a reason. Outside measurement: cleat is extended and the measurement is from the inside of the cleat. Inside measurement: cleat is collapsed and measurement taken from outside of the cleat. Travel of the cleat = thickness of the cleat.
QNk4X TIL that The Lion King was intentionally modeled after Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
jNgrj TIL, South Dakota had a large advertising campaign: “Meth — we’re on it”