Today I learned Marriott started as a root beer stand in 1927. It’s first hotel wasn’t built until 1957.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 05:27AM by alpineginger
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 05:27AM by alpineginger
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Entrepreneur
J. Willard Marriott
From Root Beer To Riches
TIL that Brazil was a monarchy until Crown Princess Isabel signed a law emancipating all slaves in Brazil in 1888. This was unpopular among the rich plantation owners and the imperial family was deposed in a military coup
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 12:19PM by ohdearitsrichardiii
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 12:19PM by ohdearitsrichardiii
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Wikipedia
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil
Dona Isabel (29 July 1846 – 14 November 1921), nicknamed "the Redemptress", was the Princess Imperial (heir presumptive to the throne) of the Empire of Brazil and the Empire's regent on three occasions. Born in Rio de Janeiro as the eldest daughter of Emperor…
TIL a 1000 year old bronze buckle from East Asia was discovered in Alaska, showing that indigenous people in North America might have been interacting with the Old World earlier than previously thought
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 01:05PM by KindaAwkwardGuy
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 01:05PM by KindaAwkwardGuy
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Smithsonian Magazine
Bronze Buckle Shows Ancient Trade Between Eurasia and North America
Metal objects found on Alaska's Seward Peninsula indicate that local people received trade goods from Asia almost 1,000 years ago
TIL the length of a day on Mars has been known (within 3 minutes accuracy) since 1666 but the length of a day on Saturn was a mystery until 2019.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 12:43PM by tobotic
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 12:43PM by tobotic
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NASA Solar System Exploration
Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn
New data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft may solved a longstanding mystery. The length of a day on Saturn: 10 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds.
TIL during the Golden Age of Piracy, women sometimes became pirates by disguising themselves as men in an effort to take advantage of freedom and rights that men could only enjoy. Anne and Mary were two famous female pirates of that time who fell in love with each others' disguised manly appearance!
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 01:51PM by quackycoder
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 01:51PM by quackycoder
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Wikipedia
Women in piracy
Wikimedia list article
[TIL] The first documented gold found in the United States was discovered by 12-year-old John Reed, who pulled a 17-pound gold nugget from a North Carolina creek. Unsure of the substance, Reed's family used the nugget as a doorstop for several years before selling it to a jeweler for $3.50.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 02:56PM by littlesonnybear
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 02:56PM by littlesonnybear
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Our State
North Carolina: The Golden State | Our State
Two centuries ago, a young boy’s accidental discovery in Cabarrus County led to the first gold rush in the United States. For 50 years, North Carolina led the nation in gold production and gave a…
TIL that Hiram Maxim took out ads in the local paper to warn his neighbours in West Norwood on the days he was planning to test-fire his prototype machine gun in the back garden
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 01:02PM by johnlen1n
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 01:02PM by johnlen1n
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Wikipedia
Hiram Maxim
American-born inventor
TIL Sun Li Jen, a commander in the ROC in WW2 is known as “Rommel of the East” due to his military achievements in various campaigns. He is named the most capable Chinese field commander in WW2. He spent his last 30 years under house arrest in Taiwan due to suspicions on collaborating with the CIA.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 04:21PM by TanJeeSchuan
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 04:21PM by TanJeeSchuan
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Wikipedia
Sun Li-jen
Sun Li-jen (traditional Chinese: 孫立人; simplified Chinese: 孙立人; pinyin: Sūn Lìrén; December 8, 1900 – November 19, 1990) was a Chinese Nationalist (KMT) general, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, best known for his leadership in the Second Sino-Japanese…
TIL that during WW1, the MI5 used Girl Guides to deliver secret messages. They used Girl Guides instead of Boy Scouts because they found out that Boy Scouts weren't efficient enough, boisterous and talkative.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 07:36PM by sylviette_pancakes
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 07:36PM by sylviette_pancakes
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TIL: Brazil forbids anyone to visit the island "Ilha da Queimada Grande" without a special permit. It's crawling with the endangered Golden Lancehead Vipers and its venom is so strong it can melt human flesh. Poachers visit the island because specimens can fetch $10-30K on the black market.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 05:06PM by OvidPerl
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 05:06PM by OvidPerl
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India Today
Snakes on this Brazilian island are so venomous, they can melt human flesh
Ilha da Queimada Grande in Brazil has been called one of the world's deadliest islands because it has the highest concentration of venomous snakes anywhere in the world.
TIL it’s legal in the US for companies to sell or lease human bodies that have been “donated to science.” Many donated bodies have to be paid for by researchers, and funeral homes earn a kickback for every “donation.”
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 09:41PM by thegoldinthemountain
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 09:41PM by thegoldinthemountain
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U.S.
Special Report: U.S. company makes a fortune selling bodies donated to science
In 2008, a thriving company named Science Care Inc developed a 55-page national expansion plan. The internal document projected the yield on raw material to the decimal point and earnings to the dollar.
TIL screenwriter Carl Foreman (High Noon) was blacklisted for communist activity. In the face of intense industry all Foreman's colleagues abandoned him expect for Gary Cooper. In gratitude, Foreman gave Cooper first refusal on his future noscripts including, The Bridge on the River Kwai.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 09:59PM by Ok-Needleworker-8876
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 09:59PM by Ok-Needleworker-8876
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Wikipedia
Gary Cooper
American actor (1901-1961)
TIL For the movie Star Wars, the sound designer for the Stormtrooper's blasters came up with the sound of the blaster during a family backpacking trip. He hit the guy-wire of an AM radio transmitter tower with a hammer and recorded the sound with a microphone close to the impact.
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 03:21PM by greatminds1
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Submitted May 14, 2021 at 03:21PM by greatminds1
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Wikipedia
Blaster (Star Wars)
fictional type of personal laser weapon from Star Wars
TIL there's a material called FOGBANK that's used by the US Department of Energy that's so top secret and compartmentalized, that the government once actually "forgot" how to make it due to a lack of actual records and dwindling institutional knowledge
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 12:57AM by LifterPuller
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 12:57AM by LifterPuller
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Wikipedia
FOGBANK
material used in US nuclear weapons
TIL In 1911 The Rigby family included their cat Tom in their census form. 'Tom Cat' was listed as being an 8-year old, married Mouse-Catcher, Soloist and Thief with 16 children. His birthplace was listed as Cheshire and he was described as being 'speechless' in the infirmity section of the form.
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 03:13AM by Szabo84
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 03:13AM by Szabo84
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Findmypast - Genealogy, Ancestry, History blog from Findmypast
7 surprising finds in the 1911 census | Blog
Meet the quarrelsome, stubborn, greedy, vain and noisy individuals recorded in the 1911 Census...
TIL the lowest paid job in the United Kingdom is pursuivant to the King of Arms. The wage is £13.95 per year. The position hasn't seen a wage rise since the 1500s. Their job is to advise the monarchy on matters of ceremony.
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 12:28AM by MarmiteKorv
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 12:28AM by MarmiteKorv
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TIL that a 2005 survey by the British Cheese Board reported that Stilton cheese seemed to cause unusual dreams, with 75 per cent of men and 85 per cent of women experiencing "odd and vivid" dreams after eating a serving of the cheese half an hour before sleeping.
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 03:02AM by jcd1974
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 03:02AM by jcd1974
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Wikipedia
Stilton cheese
type of English cheese
TIL, Mao Zedong didn’t brush his teeth. Instead, he rinsed his mouth with tea, then chewed the leaves. This left Mao with green, rooting teeth and gums that oozed puss. When encouraged by his physician to brush, Mao would respond, “Does a tiger brush his teeth?”
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 02:38PM by vaish7848
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 02:38PM by vaish7848
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Grunge.com
The Disgusting Truth About Mao Zedong's Personal Hygiene
In 2013, Business Insider wrote that deceased Communist dictator Mao Zedong was "still bigger than Jesus" in China. He was probably even bigger than John Lennon. But his personal hygiene was more disgusting than the devil himself.
TIL that speed readers were asked to read a text without knowing that every other line came from a different source yet they didn't notice it. In another study, speed readers scored 68% in a standard comprehension test, but the tests were so easy that people who never read the material scored 57%
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 02:27PM by mvpetri
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 02:27PM by mvpetri
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The Straight Dope
Does speed reading training actually work?
Dear Cecil:
What's the straight dope on speed reading? Evelyn Wood commercials in the late 70s showed people casually zipping through impressive-looking tomes, apparently having benefited from one...
What's the straight dope on speed reading? Evelyn Wood commercials in the late 70s showed people casually zipping through impressive-looking tomes, apparently having benefited from one...
TIL the first vending machine to sell live crabs debuted in 2010 in a train station in Nanjing. The machine sells about 200 live crabs a day, with prices from $2 to $7. A sign next to the machine states each crab will come out alive, offering refund of three live crabs for every dead one to pop out.
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 12:10PM by The_Internet_Author
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 12:10PM by The_Internet_Author
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Bizarrefood
Live Crab Vending Machines – Bizarre Food Blog
Live Crab Vending Machines in Nanjing China
TIL that during renovation works to the Statue of Liberty before centennial celebrations in 1986, engineers found numerous defects when it was originally designed and constructed. These include the head being two metres off centre, and the right arm not being properly attached.
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 02:31PM by johnlen1n
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Submitted May 15, 2021 at 02:31PM by johnlen1n
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Wikipedia
Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty's 1984-1986 restoration