› added 5 years ago

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TIL the water chestnut is not a nut at all, but an aquatic vegetable

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gM6xX TIL To Catch a Predator was cancelled because a Texas District Attorney committed suicide after being caught exchanging photos with an underage boy.
E14Gw TIL In 1932, General Macarthur and then Major Patton Tear-Gassed WWI Veterans Calling Themselves The "Bonus Army." They Had Marched On Washington Demanding Full Payment For Their Service During WWI. 2 Vets Were Killed. Historians Claim That Without The Protest, There May Have Never Been A GI Bill.
e8l4 TIL that at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Hawaiian American Duke Kahanamoku overslept and missed his qualifying heat in the 100m freestyle. His main rival, Cecil Healy of AUS, convinced judges to hold a special qualifying race for Duke. Duke ending up going on to win the gold, and Cecil took silver
MeaAK TIL that Rear Admiral Selden Hooper was the only admiral in the US navy to be convicted by court-martial. It was because he was a homosexual.
PYJnZ TIL George Washington borrowed The Law of Nations from the New York Society Library and didn't return it. Mount Vernon estate returned the book in 2010 (221 years overdue) after the Head librarian joked they were "not actively pursuing the overdue fines," they would appreciate having it back.