Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Charles Dickens might have been drawing from personal experience when he created the taxidermist Mr. Venus. Dickens actually had a pet raven named Grip, which he had stuffed and put on his writing desk after it died. (Source)
Did you know the Oxford English Dictionary gives Charles Dickens credit for introducing 247 brand new words into the English language? Talk about leaving your mark. (Source)
The mystery behind Dickens' final book, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, was never solved. Why, you ask? Because Dickens died of a stroke while writing it. (Source)