› added 11 months ago

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TIL that many early phone lines were "party lines" that anyone who picked up the phone could listen in on; customers had to pay an extra monthly fee to upgrade to a private line.

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XEVVX TIL - During a nationwide student protest, National Guard troops fired upon and killed several students at Kent State. Republican Governer, Jim Rhodes had called the protesters "the worst type of people" and "we're going touse every part of the law enforcement agency ... to eradicate the problem"
j64Ev TIL the city of Melbourne, Australia has more skyscrapers (150m+) than the entirety of Texas or California
J1mv8 TIL: Beneath a Czech chapel lies a haunting collection of bones from over 40,000 souls
KOLWG TIL the religion of Zoroastrianism believes the otter ("water dog") is a highly sacred animal and believe in harsh punishments for those who kill them.
VBLJB TIL George C. Scott called the Oscars "a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons," and sent a telegram to the Academy telling them that he'd be refusing the award, and didn't even want his name on the ballot.