› added 2 months ago

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TIL that Gambling on who the next pope will be is one of the very few things explicitly punishable by excommunication.

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aMkN TIL on the Thai version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”, a contestant’s screen was fed the presenter’s information, with every correct answer. The contestant won the million, however it was later revoked and she was able to play again, winning only 25,000 baht (US$800~)
GkBg TIL Ron L. Hubbard awarded himself his PhD because he owned the university from which he graduated.
m1xNP TIL that the Schwartzkopff torpedo was based on the Whitehead design. Schwartzkopff translates to Blackhead. In 2 battles where this torpedo was employed, 3 ships were sunk.
pQGN TIL in 1825 the Baron of Renfrew, one of the largest wooden ships ever built, set sail from Anse du Fort, Quebec to London, England. Her mission, to be scrapped for wood on arrival in order to exploit a loophole in British lumber tariffs. She sunk 650 miles offshore.
9wg6M TIL Iceland has a higher percentage of English speakers than the USA despite English not being an official language