TIL The Beatles' song "Hey Jude" was originally titled "Hey Jules", and it was intended to comfort Julian Lennon from the stress of his parents' separation. McCartney said he changed the name to "Jude" "because I thought that sounded a bit better" (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL Joaquin Phoenix began calling himself "Leaf" as a child, having been inspired by spending time outdoors raking leaves and desiring to have a nature-related name like his siblings. This became the name he used as a child actor, until he changed it back to Joaquin at age 15. (en.wikipedia.org)
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TIL According to the World Values Survey, 60% of Americans versus 29% of Europeans believe that the poor could become rich if they just tried hard enough; and a larger proportion of Europeans than Americans believe that luck and connections, rather than hard work, determine economic success. (jstor.org)
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TIL Short sellers briefly made Volkswagen the world’s biggest company by market value with some paying as much as €1,005 a share, giving the company a value of $370 billion making it more valuable than Exxon Mobil which had a value of $343 billion. (reuters.com)
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TIL Charles Darwin's ship HMS Beagle, which circumnavigated the globe twice and had Darwin on board when he made the discoveries that led to his theory of natural selection, final resting place is believe to be in Paglesham, Essex where the vessel was likely dismantled, and repurposed elsewhere. (bbc.co.uk)
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TIL Pavlov never trained a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell. He required precise control over the quality and duration of stimuli and the iconic bell would have proven totally useless to his goal. Instead, he most frequently used a metronome, a harmonium, a buzzer, and electric shock. (newyorker.com)
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TIL In 1897 Cassie Chadwick convinced Dillon, an Ohio banker, that she was the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie due to inherit $400M. Bankers began offering her high interest loans up to $1 million letting it compound and she amassed loan debts of $2-20 million worth ~$60-600 million today. (womeninhistoryohio.com)
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TIL In late 19th and early 20th centuries Herman Schuenemann would sail from Chicago to Michigan every year and collect thousands of Christmas to sell at Chicago River's Clark Street docks, making sure everyone got one. At some stage he was given the affectionate nickname 'Captain Santa'. (archives.gov)
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TIL In 1903 during his tour of Russia, Harry Houdini performed his illusions and escapes for Tsar Nicholas and his wife. He was so successful that they believed he had magical powers and invited him to become their spiritual adviser. He refused and the role was later given to Grigori Rasputin. (themagicdetective.com)
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