"TIL the United States Army is the largest single employer of musicians in the country"
"TIL there were just 5 surviving longbows from medieval England known to exist before 137 whole longbows (and 3,500 arrows) were recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose in 1980 (a ship of Henry VIII's navy that capsized in 1545). The bows were in excellent finished condition & have been preserved."
"TIL after Leona Helmsley did not pay her contractors that worked on her Connecticut home, she was investigated for tax evasion, and she received a 16 year sentence. During trial her housekeeper testified that Helmsley said "only the little people pay taxes." She ended up serving 19 months in prison."
"TIL that “court jesters” were often used to give bad news to the monarch that no one else would dare deliver. When the French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys, Phillip VI’s jester told him that the English sailors “don’t even have the guts to jump into the water like our brave French”"
"TIL in 2020 a woman took an online DNA test which showed a 22% match with a man who she'd eventually discover to be her still alive uncle, who was kidnapped in 1951 at the age of six & had been missing for 70 years. After he was abducted in Oakland, he was flown to the east coast & raised there."
"TIL that eminem is first rapper to reach 50 million pure album sales.Physical albums sold, excluding digital downloads and streaming."
"TIL Geysers are quite rare, requiring a combination of water, heat, and fortuitous plumbing. Yellowstone National Park is home to half of all the geysers found in the world."
"TIL Robert F. Kennedy's assassin is still alive and has been denied parole 17 times"
"TIL that Gene Roddenberry originally did not want to cast Patrick Stewart as Picard, since he had envisioned an actor who was "masculine, virile, and had a lot of hair"."
"TIL 10 US states have absolutely no vehicle inspection whatsoever (i.e no safety, emissions, or VIN inspections)"
"TIL that in Major League Baseball the ball is pitched so fast that the eye cannot track it. However, the brain is able to calculate its trajectory via specialized cells, making it possible for the batter to hit it."
"TIL that the first laws outlawing food coloring were in regards to bread. White bread was expensive and some bakers added chalk to lighten dark bread. King Edward I (1272-1307) created a law saying anyone caught using whiteners in bread would be put in the public pillory for one hour."
"TIL If you've believed in good faith for at least five years that you're a Swiss citizen and local authorities have treated you as such, you can apply for simplified naturalisation."
"TIL About a man named Heshen who was known as the most corrupt official in Chinese history. After his death in 1799, his personal wealth was valued at $270 billion, or 15 years of Qing government revenues"
"TIL in 2023, Zimbabwe signed control over almost 20% of the country's land to Blue Carbon, an Emirati company, for $1.5 billion. The company seeks to conserve forests that might otherwise be logged."
"TIL strength training also involves the nervous system, where your strength is not only determined by how big your muscles are, but by how well the nervous system can recruit muscles, synchronize their firing, and prevent mechanisms designed to prevent your body from tearing itself apart."
"TIL every person who has become a centibillionaire (a net worth of usually $100 billion, €100 billion, or £100 billion), first became one in 2017 or later except for Bill Gates who first reached the threshold in 1999."
"TIL the total number of Americans over 7-feet tall is estimated between 85 and 150."
"TIL Pope Pius XII once asserted in a speech that the Big Bang theory scientifically proved that the universe was created by a divine creator. Horrified, the physicist Georges Lemaître convinced the Pope not to make any further statements connecting his theory and theology."
"TIL about 'Balconing' in Ibiza, a phenomenon in which intoxicated party goers die or are injured by acting wildly on the balconies of the hotel establishments where they have stayed"
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As a former resident of one of those 10 states, I agree with you.
No sh#t, it even says it on the drum. And look at those uniforms!