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TIL Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire, among other things, became empress by winning a beauty contest, after her husband died became the first empress to rule in her own right in Byzantine History, and blinded her own son in order to retain power.

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R591j TIL ironically, the novel Fahrenheit 451 has been banned, censored, or redacted in several schools since its publication, including at a school in Montgomery County, Texas, in 2006, where the parents where offended by the burning of the Bible. The book was also burned in Apartheid South Africa.
oBOQW TIL about a drink called the New Jersey Turnpike which calls for the server to ring out the mat found on the floor of a bar into a shot glass and is given to the loser of a bar bet.
EgeBx TIL that despite Dr Phil being filmed in California, Phil McGraw has never held a license to practice psychology in the state. The California Board of Psychology determined that he does not need a license as they ruled that his show is more of entertainment than psychology.
o0Q7 TIL when an architecture student alerted engineers that an NYC skyscraper might collapse in an upcoming storm (Hurricane Ella), the city kept it secret then reinforced the building overnight (while police developed a ten-block evacuation plan).
DV1D TIL at 11 years old, Stanley Burrell was a batboy for the Oakland A’s. He was nicknamed “Hammer” because of his resemblance to Hank Aaron. The nickname stuck, and he would later assume the rap name “MC Hammer”