/r/todayilearned

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TIL the "ampersand" character is intended to depict the two characters of the Latin word "et", meaning "and", that it was once considered the 27th letter of the alphabet, and that it's name comes from the phrase "and per se and".

100 upvotes • presonusshark

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TIL of Carriage dogs; dogs that travelled with carriages in order to protect them from bandits or to drive off crowds in front of early fire engines and would stay with the horses in order to help keep them calm.

97 upvotes • Sanguinusshiboleth

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TIL Jimmy Carter is the only living president to have won Texas as a democrat

96 upvotes • kitokspasaulis

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TIL Thousands of Pigeons Pooped on Spectators at 1936 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony after up to 30,000 pigeons were released and then the organisers began firing canons. The story was relayed and recorded by US Olympian Louis Zamperini, a long distance runner.

95 upvotes • ilikesports12345

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TIL the first possible tornado report in the United States occurred in July 1643. The report was recorded by Massachusetts Governor and weather enthusiast John Winthrop, who observed a sudden gust that whipped up dust, lifted his meeting house, and killed a nearby observer with a fallen tree.

94 upvotes • Devious_Bastard

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TIL about Ngerulmud, the capital of Palau and the least populous capital city in the world. It has an official population of 0.

92 upvotes • gmrt34

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TIL of the Ben Franklin Effect, "a psychological phenomenon in which people like someone more after doing a favor for them". The opposite is also true, people come to dislike others to whom they have done wrong

92 upvotes • mushnu

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TIL that in 1836, the Whigs wanted to force a contingent election by nominating 4 candidates for President. They failed and Van Buren got the necessary majority to win.

90 upvotes • IllustriousDudeIDK

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TIL Conan O'Brien's first musical guest on his show was Radiohead playing "Creep".

89 upvotes • SuperMcG

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TIL the phrase "Sorry, Charlie" comes from Charlie the Tuna, a StarKist mascot always rejected for having "good taste" instead of tasting good.

88 upvotes • CharliePanty

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
TIL the "ampersand" character is intended to depict the two characters of the Latin word "et", meaning "and", that it was once considered the 27th letter of the alphabet, and that it's name comes from the phrase "and per se and".	100	presonusshark
TIL of Carriage dogs; dogs that travelled with carriages in order to protect them from bandits or to drive off crowds in front of early fire engines and would stay with the horses in order to help keep them calm.	97	Sanguinusshiboleth
TIL Jimmy Carter is the only living president to have won Texas as a democrat	96	kitokspasaulis
TIL Thousands of Pigeons Pooped on Spectators at 1936 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony after up to 30,000 pigeons were released and then the organisers began firing canons. The story was relayed and recorded by US Olympian Louis Zamperini, a long distance runner.	95	ilikesports12345
TIL the first possible tornado report in the United States occurred in July 1643. The report was recorded by Massachusetts Governor and weather enthusiast John Winthrop, who observed a sudden gust that whipped up dust, lifted his meeting house, and killed a nearby observer with a fallen tree.	94	Devious_Bastard
TIL about Ngerulmud, the capital of Palau and the least populous capital city in the world. It has an official population of 0.	92	gmrt34
TIL of the Ben Franklin Effect, "a psychological phenomenon in which people like someone more after doing a favor for them". The opposite is also true, people come to dislike others to whom they have done wrong	92	mushnu
TIL that in 1836, the Whigs wanted to force a contingent election by nominating 4 candidates for President. They failed and Van Buren got the necessary majority to win.	90	IllustriousDudeIDK
TIL Conan O'Brien's first musical guest on his show was Radiohead playing "Creep".	89	SuperMcG
TIL the phrase "Sorry, Charlie" comes from Charlie the Tuna, a StarKist mascot always rejected for having "good taste" instead of tasting good.	88	CharliePanty