gnostek1 / 11A tulip, known as "the Viceroy" ( viseroij ), displayed in the 1637 Dutch catalogue Verzameling van een Meenigte Tulipaanen ("Collection of a Crowd of Tulips"). Its bulb was offered for sale for between 3,000 and 4,200 guilders (florins)…
01The Semper Augustus bulb peaked at 10,000 guilders — equal to ten times a skilled craftsman's annual wage.
02At the crash's peak, tulip futures contracts were sold in taverns for bulbs that hadn't yet grown.
03Some historians argue the 'mania' was exaggerated — only a narrow merchant class was ever truly exposed.
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01Colonel Allan MacLean was wounded multiple times before being taken by Chinese soldiers on November 29, 1950.
02The combined Task Force — roughly 3,000 men — suffered casualties above 50% before breaking through the encirclement.
03MacLean's replacement, Lieutenant Colonel Don Faith, was killed leading the breakout; he received a posthumous Medal of Honor.
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01God kills Job's ten children, 7,000 sheep, and 3,000 camels on a bet with Satan.
02The prose frame—where Job is rewarded—was likely added centuries after the original poem was written.
03At the end, God mocks Job from a whirlwind for 71 verses without answering a single question.
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01Gallium's melting point is 29.8 °C; it liquefies sitting in a warm hand.
02A few grams of gallium smeared on an aluminium beam will cause structural failure within hours.
03Gallium is banned from commercial aircraft cabins by FAA regulation for exactly this reason.
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01The column's 190-metre relief spiral shows explicit scenes of decapitation and mass drowning of Germanic prisoners.
02A hermit was permitted to inhabit the column's interior chamber for an extended period in the medieval era.
03Pope Sixtus V replaced Aurelius's statue at the top with one of Saint Paul in 1589.
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01The New York Daily News headline 'Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty' ran on December 1, 1952, above Korean War news.
02Jorgensen received tens of thousands of letters from strangers after the story broke, many describing their own lives for the first time.
03She went on to perform as an entertainer and lecturer, speaking publicly about her life until her death in 1989.
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01He reportedly killed the Turkic Khagan Shaba personally in single combat during the 589 AD campaign.
02Khosrow II stripped him of command after the victory; Bahram responded by seizing the Sasanian throne.
03He ruled as Bahram VI — the only non-royal usurper to hold the Sasanian crown — for about two years.
gnostek
01Mary weighed approximately five tons; the first execution chain broke, forcing a second attempt before a crowd.
02She killed trainer Red Eldridge on September 11, 1916 — one day into his job.
03The town of Erwin, Tennessee threatened to ban the entire Sparks World Famous Shows circus unless Mary was executed.
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01Donaghy bet on 57 NBA games between 2005 and 2007, going 70–80% accurate due to inside information.
02He passed tips to Thomas Martino, a childhood friend with mob connections, using pre-paid burner phones.
03Donaghy served 15 months in federal prison; his allegations that the NBA itself manipulated playoff games were never formally investigated.