› added 7 years ago

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TIL in the 1930s the Soviet Union attempted to domesticate wild moose. They believed moose might fare better in deep snow than horse cavalry so they began a breeding program. Though they never became cavalry animals, one of the breeding facilities, Kostroma Moose Farm, is still up and running.

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lxnB TIL that Sean Connery turned down the Gandalf role in Lord of the Rings. “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.”
W1G9 TIL that a New Mexico man tried to kill a mouse that he had caught in a glue trap by burning it alive on a pile of burning leaves. Instead, the fire melted the glue, freeing the flaming mouse which then ran back inside the man’s home and started a fire which burned the house down
rRKlw TIL that in 1958, Bank of America mass mailed 60,000 unsolicited credit cards, with a credit line of $500, to residents of Fresno, California. They chose Fresno so that if the plan failed, it wouldn’t get much media coverage. The program was wildly successful and marked the birth of Visa.
nej5G TIL that President Carter once told a joke during a speech to a Japanese audience which caused the audience to erupt in laughter. Impressed, he asked how the interpreter managed to get such a laugh. The interpreter admitted that he had said, “President Carter told a funny story. Everyone must laugh”
XE8PX TIL that, owing to a surge in production at the end of the 19th century, oysters became cheaper than meat, poultry, and fish, making them a popular dish on working class tables in the United States and Europe. This period of mass production is known as the Golden Age of Oysters.