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TIL the British Royal Yacht carried a crew of 241 who were required to carry out their duties in silence known as “unobtrusive excellence,” meaning that most orders were given using sign language and crew members wore slippers to further minimize noise.

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b6rmN TIL that around 1730, London was struck by a bizarre epidemic of drunkenness. Almost overnight, spirits became cheaper than beer for the first time in History due to a mix of grain surplus and pro-distillery regulation. The result: years of social unrest on the top of London's rapid urbanization.
xkgo TIL that 60% of mid-size motels and hotels in the US are owned by those of Indian-origin, and of those, 1/3 have the last name ‘Patel’; a name used by the educated-merchant class in Gujarat, India which means “landowner”.
rNeJ0 TIL The longest ever recorded pop song is “Apparente Libertà,” by Giancarlo Ferrari, which is 76 minutes, 44 seconds long
neLRb TIL in 1943 the USS Robin was actually the Royal Navy carrier HMS Victorious tasked with working with the USS Saratoga in the Pacific until new US carriers could replace war losses. They cooperated the extent that US fighters were based on the Victorious and UK bombers were based on the Saratoga.
W770d TIL about the B-52 bomber that crashed into the empire state building on July 28th 1945. The pilot had requested clearance to land at LaGuardia due to zero visibility(fog) but was told to reroute and not land. 14 people died as a result of the accident.