› added 9 years ago

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TIL that Dr Seuss’s first book was rejected 20+ times. He was on his way to burn it when he ran into a college friend who had just been made children’s editor at Vanguard Press. Seuss later said, ‘If I’d been going down the other side of Madison Ave, I’d be in the dry-cleaning business today.’

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oRwOW TIL about the Sankebetsu brown bear incident a series of bear attacks which took place 9-15 December 1915, at the beginning of the Taishō era, in a remote area of Hokkaido, Japan. The attacks ended when the hungry bear, so smart that it started to trick people, was shot dead.
b9GON TIL about the White Ship disaster that killed 300 people including the heir to the English throne, and sent England into a succession crisis
4XVOo TIL ancient Egyptian eye makeup provided psychic protection as well beauty enhancement. An unadorned and thus unprotected eye was believed vulnerable to the Evil Eye. Outlining the eyes became a personal protective amulet drawn right upon the skin that, once applied, could not be lost or stolen.
JE1k TIL when his heir died childless, the estate of British scientist James Smithson passed to the U.S. government. American diplomat Richard Rush was sent to England to collect the money, and returned with today’s equivalent of $11M in gold coins, which was used to found the Smithsonian Institution.
YG0G TIL The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still in limited theatrical release nearly four decades after its premiere, making it the longest-running theatrical release in film history.