› added 8 years ago

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TIL the Big Bang Theory was originated by a Belgian Catholic priest, Georges Lemaitre.

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via ift.tt

EmMw TIL the original War on Christmas was waged in New England during the early days of America. Due to Puritan beliefs of the region, Christmas was illegal in the mid 16 hundreds because it espoused “Pagan” traditions. It still remained culturally taboo until the 1870’s.
oBA6K TIL: Based on a 9th-century Taoist text, the invention of gunpowder by Chinese alchemists was likely an accidental byproduct from experiments seeking to create the elixir of life.
LQYDQ TIL of the Disappointment Islands in French Polynesia, so named by a British explorer in 1765 because of hostile natives, they are arid and lacking in water, and nowadays most of the islands are uninhabited
wolZY TIL that a rancher in Oregon named Bill Brown would often write checks on any paper available. This often included soup can labels and newspaper margins. As he was rich and known for this, the banks would cash the checks without question.
bV84 TIL that in 1976 the mayor of Montreal declared before the Olympic games that “The Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby.” He was wrong. Mismanagement and gross cost overruns left the city with $1.5 billion of debt that wasn’t paid off until 2006.