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TIL there was a little ice age between 1600 and 1814. The river Thames in London used to completely freeze over for 2 months per year allowing “Frost Fairs” to take place with football pitches, bowling matches, fruit-sellers, shoemakers, barbers… even a pub or two.

Read more historic-uk.com

via reddit.com

BrMJe TIL how Samuel Clements chose his pen name. He used to be a Riverboat Pilot in Hannibal, MO. It was common to have a crew member throw a line out from the front of the boat to measure the depth shouting “Mark Twain” if it was a safe depth. A Mark is the same as a Fathom (6 feet) and Twain means 2.
E1OKP TIL In 2002 a 19-year-old garbage man won a 15 million dollar lottery, spent it all on drugs, gambling, and prostitutes, and became a garbage man again.
pxX8 TIL that on 23 August 1989, around 2 million people joined hands in a human chain that stretched 600 kilometres across the 3 Baltic countries, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. They did this to protest their countries forced inclusion in the Soviet Union.
m7by TIL Simply wearing a US military uniform in public or falsely claiming to have served is not a violation of The Stolen Valor Act. Only wearing or claiming to have earned certain decorations with the intention of profiting monetarily or in some tangible way is a violation of federal law.
mxn6R TIL in October 2017, Spam shared a picture of Pumpkin Spice Spam and noted that it was not a real product they were selling. Two years later, Spam announced a legitimate limited edition Pumpkin Spice product for the autumn season. In less than 7 hours on the day of release, the Spam had sold out.