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TIL The fireman’s pole came about when a firefighter on the top floor slid down a pole used for binding hay during transport. It prompted his Captain to convince the Chief to install a hole and pole. They were targets of lots of jokes until people realized the company always showed up first.

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mL1E TIL A Frenchwoman, Jeanne de Clisson, became a pirate in the 1300’s for revenge after her husband was beheaded. Selling her lands to buy 3 ships, they were painted black with red sails. Hunting French ships, when she caught nobles, she personally beheaded them with an axe.
0dJEN TIL the bubbles in champagne form tight lines rising to the top & most other carbonated beverages don't. Champagne contains surfactant molecules that keep the bubbles from leaving a wake as they move, preventing them from acting like the connected simultaneously-rising bubbles in other drinks.
NEe TIL the governor of Maine is against state marriage and would prefer civil unions for homosexual and heterosexual couples alike
6E8Lm TIL Army vet Gregory Holeman needed a ride to the hospital, but his care via the Veteran's Admin. didn't cover a 911 ambulance. He asked his sister to call a social worker but she misdialed and Jimmy John's answered; so JJ delivery driver Zack Hillmer (a U.S. Navy vet) drove him to the hospital.
QJEDp TIL Armadillos can jump 3-4 feet in the air when startled