› added 9 years ago

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TIL that the members of the crew of the Essex, the ship that was sunk by a sperm whale (and inspired “Moby Dick”), were forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive on their longboats. Toward the end, they drew lots to see who would be killed for the benefit of the others. Only 8 of 20 survived.

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LkO1P TIL that 26 of the 50 states of the U.S. are named after Native American tribes.
8e86Z TIL Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, is not connect to the sewer system, instead relying on a fleet of poop trucks
epVBb TIL about Valentino syndrome, named after Rudolph Valentino, who died of a perforated gastric ulcer misdiagnosed as appendicitis.
EQoV TIL that in 1997, Mattel released ‘Share-A-Smile Becky’ Barbie doll, who was disabled and came with a wheelchair; however, the doll created controversy when it was pointed out that the Barbie-Dream-House was not wheelchair accessible and could not accommodate Becky’s needs.
WkW18 TIL Junior Bridgeman a former NBA player who was not a star in the league, took his earnings from the NBA and invested them into food franchises. He now has a net worth of $600 million only behind Michael Jordan as the richest NBA player in history.