› added 6 years ago

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TIL that prior to shooting Raging Bull, Robert De Niro trained under Jake LaMotta (whom he played) and actually won 2 of his 3 middleweight fights that he entered in Brooklyn. LaMotta himself felt that De Niro was a natural and was one of the 20 best middleweight boxers of all time.

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via reddit.com

DpZP TIL on this date in 1781 a british slave ship called Zong threw over a hundred slaves into the ocean to claim insurance on their death
DMaD TIL that Israel-related animal conspiracy theories exist in some countries. Sharks, vultures, boars, rats, and dolphins are among the animals Israel allegedly uses against others.
vWdD TIL that when a sperm whale eats a giant squid and consumes its beak, its digestive tract secretes a substance called ambergris to ease its passing. Ambergris is extremely valuable (a 2.4lb lump sold for £11,000) and can be used to make perfumes and to flavor food.
epw7E TIL that there were many "Southern Unionists" during the US Civil War. 40% of US Military Officers from Virginia fought for the Union and approximately 100,000 Southern Unionists served in the Union Army, with units of White Troops raised from every Southern state except South Carolina.
W5po TIL that from 2005-2010, Prague had a brothel where men paid a one-time $23 fee, and women and couples entered for free. The catch was that their exploits were filmed and streamed online to paying customers.