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TIL Will Purvis, who was convicted of murder in 1894 and had always maintained his innocence, told the jury he would "live longer than the lot of them." He survived a hanging, was re-incarcerated, and eventually pardoned and released.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Purvis
https://redd.it/1edkehr
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TIL R. Norris Williams survived the sinking of the Titanic clinging to an overturned lifeboat. The injuries to his legs were such the doctors aboard rescue ship suggested amputation. He refused and instead went on to recover his faculties and eventually winning the tennis Olympic gold medal in 1924.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Norris_Williams
https://redd.it/1edqppg
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TIL After the US Navy lost the USS Thresher in 1963, it instituted a quality assurance program called SUBSAFE for its submarines. As a result they went from losing 16 submarines to non-combat reasons in the 48 years before, to losing only the USS Scorpion (which wasn’t SUBSAFE certified) since 1963.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUBSAFE
https://redd.it/1edj6gn
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TIL that Jamie Hyneman was an early competitor in Robot Wars (where people design robots that fight each other), but his robot Blendo was deemed too dangerous for competition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Hyneman
https://redd.it/1edpri6
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TIL, with a running start, Usain Bolt ran a 100m in 8.70 seconds in 2009
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/bolt-runs-1435-sec-for-150m-covers-50m-150m-i
https://redd.it/1eczh97
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TIL The word "man" was originally gender-neutral, hence "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind". In Old English "wæpman" = male, "wifman" = female, "man" = gender-neutral
https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/man-woman
https://redd.it/1eci5sa
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TIL the "I am the golden god!" line from the film 'Almost Famous' is based on a direct quote from Robert Plant.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/is-led-zeppelins-robert-plant-really-the-golden-god/
https://redd.it/1ecr0rx
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TIL of the Ngatik massacre, where almost the entire male population of an island was murdered for Tortoise shells and left a massive linguistic mark in the region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngatik_massacre
https://redd.it/1ecxqlk
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TIL about conservation-induced extinction, where attempts to save a critically endangered species directly cause the extinction of another.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation-induced_extinction
https://redd.it/1ecpzdr
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TIL that Winston Churchill lived to the age of 90, despite smoking and drinking to excess as well as being overweight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill
https://redd.it/1ec5gcw
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TIL that during the Siege of Suiyang, General Zhang Xun killed his own concubine as food for the hungry soldiers defending the city to convince them that such extreme sacrifices were worth it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Suiyang
https://redd.it/1ebwt8j
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TIL Lord Byron wasn't allowed to have a dog while he was a student at Cambridge, so he kept a bear in his dorm room because the campus rules didn't forbid bears.
https://csc.uk/2019/06/29/the-day-lord-byron-outsmarted-cambridge-university/
https://redd.it/1ebxonu
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TIL Motorcycles in China are dictated by law to be decommissioned and destroyed in 13 years after registration regardless of the conditions
https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/bikes/the-rise-of-motorcycling-in-the-far-east
https://redd.it/1ec1cm9
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TIL that in 2018, an American half-pipe skier qualified for the Olympics despite minimal experience. Olympic requirements stated that an athlete needed to place in the top 30 at multiple events. She simply sought out events with fewer than 30 participants, showed up, and skied down without falling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Swaney
https://redd.it/1ebz7dk
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TIL the only scientific paper ever published by Bill Gates was a possible solution to a mathematical problem about pancake flipping.
https://www.npr.org/2008/07/04/92236781/before-microsoft-gates-solved-a-pancake-problem
https://redd.it/1eayjeq
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TIL when Great Britian sent a search team for the Franklin Expedition, the HMS Resolute had got trapped in ice. A year later, the ship was recovered by Americans and gifted the the UK. That ship was taken apart to make 3 desks. One of those desks, the Resolute, currently sits in the Oval Office.
https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Resolute_(1850)
https://redd.it/1edif91
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TIL Residential lawns in the US use up about 9 billion gallons of water every day
https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/pubs/outdoor.html
https://redd.it/1edd7tq
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TIL that although brothels are legal in much of Nevada, about 90% of the prostitution that occurs in the state is illegal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Nevada
https://redd.it/1edmxlh
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TIL that average human height went down from 5'10" (178 cm) for men and 5'6" (168 cm) for women to 5'5" (165 cm) and 5'1" (155 cm) 10,000 years ago and it took until the 20th century for average human height to match pre-Neolithic Revolution levels.
http://www.hormones.gr/127/article/article.html
https://redd.it/1eccjw6
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TIL A study found that more years of education is correlated with higher life satisfaction, better health, and lower divorce rates even when controlling for income.
https://www.nber.org/papers/w15339#:~:text=Experiences%20and%20skills%20acquired%20in,health%2C%20marriage%2C%20and%20parenting.
https://redd.it/1eclaj4
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TIL that there was a point during the 1990s when TY beanie babies made up 10% of all sales on eBay.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Beanie_Babies
https://redd.it/1ecovnx
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TIL that with a population of 170 million people, Bangladesh is the most populous country to have never won a medal at the Olympic Games.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_at_the_Olympics
https://redd.it/1ecvrvn
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TIL that in Thailand, if your spouse cheats on you, you can legally sue their lover for damages and can receive up to 5,000,000 THB ($140,000 USD) or more under Section 1523 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code
https://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/thai-divorce-law-translation-of-civil-marriage-laws.html#:~:text=Section%201523
https://redd.it/1ecvyij
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TIL that the every Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux indian receives a payout of around $1 million per year from casino profits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakopee_Mdewakanton_Sioux_Community
https://redd.it/1ec203q
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TIL: In the 15th century, an engineer named Orban offered to build a huge cannon for Constantinople. After they turned him down, he offered his services to the Ottomans who then used his cannon to attack Constantinople.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orban
https://redd.it/1ebr34g
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TIL that for the first time in almost 300 years, Europe currently has no reigning female monarch
https://thegenealogycorner.com/2024/01/15/when-was-the-last-time-europe-lacked-a-female-ruler/
https://redd.it/1ebtznr
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TIL actor John Larroquette was the uncredited narrator of the prologue to the 1974 horror movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In lieu of cash, he was paid by the Director Tobe Hooper in Marijuana.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/01/18/john-larroquette-paid-marijuana-weed-texas-chainsaw-massacre/11073784002/
https://redd.it/1ec2uj4
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TIL that an extra on the set of "Transformers 3" was left brain damaged after she was struck with a piece of metal. After the accident, a portion of her skull was removed and she now endures memory loss, seizures, and is blind in one eye. She was awarded an $18.5 million settlement
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/injured-transformers-3-extra-gets-18-5-million-settlement-flna794941
https://redd.it/1ebsito
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TIL Nearly 25,000 people a year set off up Mt Kilimanjaro, and 25 die. Many get head pain, nosebleeds and unexpected vomiting along with fatigue and shortness of breath. As it gets steeper and colder, climbers rest every 15 paces
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2003/feb/16/tanzania.climbingholidays.observerescapesection
https://redd.it/1ebaihu
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TIL the most divorced person ever of monogamous marriages was a baptist minister. He had married 31 times, mostly to teenagers, because he just “spoke their language” and ONLY five marriages end by the death of the spouse.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynn_Wolfe
https://redd.it/1eat3g1
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