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TIL It's physically impossible to sink entirely in quicksand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicksand
https://redd.it/1elkebp
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TIL about Klaus Barbie, a Nazi war criminal hiding in Bolivia after the war, was tricked into revealing his true identity during a fake interview by being asked a question in French, a language he wasn't supposed to understand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Barbie
https://redd.it/1elm759
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TIL: At least 1/3 of the US Cycling Team in 1984 LA Olympics were doped with a process called "blood doping". The American Cycling team won 9 medals.
https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/cyclops/dopes.htm
https://redd.it/1ekkk7r
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TIL There was reportedly a 50-person pub brawl in a British pub over who would obtain the last bag of dry-roasted peanuts.
https://www.digitalspy.com/fun/a202472/drinkers-in-mass-brawl-over-peanuts/
https://redd.it/1ekrz0c
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Today I learned that in an early draft of the Simpsons episode "Homer at the Bat", Jose Canseco missed the big game at the end because he was having an affair with Mrs. Krabappel. The real Conseco objected to this, so the finished episode has him missing the game for a more heroic reason.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/how-homer-at-the-bat-came-together/
https://redd.it/1ekzl6s
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TIL Julius Evola, an Italian philosopher, would regularly walk around the city during bombing raids to "ponder his destiny". During one such aerial bombardment in 1945, a shell fragment damaged his spinal cord and he became paralysed from the waist down, remaining so for the rest of his life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Evola#Third_Reich
https://redd.it/1el0058
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TIL that the rent in the German town of Fuggerei hasn't been raised in 500 years and remains 0.88 Euros for an entire year
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei#Description
https://redd.it/1ekws3o
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TIL that in 2007 BBC journalist Alan Yentob was caught out for having clips of himself nodding inserted into interviews on a TV show he fronted to make it appear that he had conducted them instead of other journalists
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/07/bbc.television1
https://redd.it/1ek68r7
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TIL about Cash for Clunkers, which was a program designed to stimulate sales of new, fuel-efficient cars in the wake of the Great Recession, but was criticized for disrupting the used car market, and for scrapping exotic cars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Allowance_Rebate_System
https://redd.it/1ejw47v
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TIL that some of James Cook's maps were still in use until the mid-20th century due to their remarkable accuracy and continued relevance after 200 years
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook
https://redd.it/1ejsu4g
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TIL that before the Civil War there were 8,000 different kinds of money in circulation in the US - the same banknote had different value depending on location
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/before-the-civil-war-there-were-8000-different-kinds-of-money-in-the-us-158310489/
https://redd.it/1ejvye9
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TIL: Tumbleweeds are not indigenous to North America and were likely not around during the wild west.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/tumbleweeds-fastest-plant-invasion-in-usa-history.html
https://redd.it/1ek73dz
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TIL in 1184, 60 noblemen died after a wooden floor collapsed in a church, causing them to fall into a "latrine cesspit" (liquid shit) which hadn't been emptied for a while. Their cause of death was drowning.
https://toilet-guru.com/blog/50.html
https://redd.it/1ejejlx
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TIL there's a Japanese proverb that literally translates to "Don't let your daughter-in-law eat your autumn eggplants"
https://www.linguanaut.com/learn-japanese/sayings-and-proverbs.php
https://redd.it/1ej3f6s
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TIL Redheads in Australia are often nicknamed "Blueys".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair#Modern-day_discrimination
https://redd.it/1ejau0s
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TIL that astronaut helmets have a patch of Velcro inside of them so astronauts have a way to scratch their noses.
https://www.universetoday.com/38599/astronaut-helmet/
https://redd.it/1elu8w9
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TIL Albert Kahn was an industrial architect working out of Detroit. In 1937 he designed 19% of all factories built that year. He opened an architectural school in Russia. In 1941 he received the eighth highest salary in the USA, $486,936. His last building was the Willow Run bomber plant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Kahn_(architect)
https://redd.it/1ekmi24
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TIL In 1980, a Seattle businessman opened a sperm bank that only accepted sperm from Nobel laureates or 'accomplished males.' The goal was to produce genetically superior children. Many of the 218 children born under the program have been described as geniuses in a variety of fields.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repository_for_Germinal_Choice
https://redd.it/1el1mci
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TIL in 2008, Chile printed tons of 50 peso coins that misspelled the name of their country as "Chiie". No one noticed until 2009, and the person responsible was fired.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8511910.stm
https://redd.it/1ekk9qi
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TIL that the 1984 Summer Olympics, which took place in Los Angeles, made a profit
https://www.marketplace.org/2016/08/05/1984-when-los-angeles-actually-made-money-hosting-olympics/
https://redd.it/1ekml77
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TIL in 1719, prisoners in Paris were granted freedom on the condition that they marry a prostitute and relocate to Louisiana.
https://www.jocelyngreen.com/2017/01/09/louisiana-and-france%E2%80%99s-forced-colonization-experiment
https://redd.it/1ekxmxx
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TIL that when Billy the Kid learned Joe Grant was coming to kill him, he sabotaged Grant's revolver. Grant attempted to shoot Billy in the face and when the gun did not go off, Billy killed Grant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid
https://redd.it/1ejgro3
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TIL that Formula One driver David Coulthard survived a plane crash in which both pilots died, before attending the Spanish Grand Prix not long after
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/f1/f1-driver-fatal-plane-crash-31611756
https://redd.it/1ek2626
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TIL~2600 yrs ago in China, an ill king was predicted by a prophet that he won't live to eat the next harvest. When he was later presented with the new harvest and ready to eat it, he remembered the prediction and killed the seer, felt stomachache before eating, went to latrine, fell in and died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Jing_of_Jin_(Ju)#Abdication_and_death
https://redd.it/1ejvjmj
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TIL: Teddy Roosevelt was VP due to his support of anti-trust reform, and conservatives knew the VP had little power. Six months into the term, President McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became President, ushering in an unprecedented era of anti-trust and labor reforms.
https://cv.libguides.com/US_Vice_Presidents/troosevelt
https://redd.it/1ejvkmf
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TIL of the Japanese concept of "Wa," in which everyone strives to prioritize the development of society over the individual. It is seen as a fundamental aspect of Japanese society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wa_(Japanese_culture)
https://redd.it/1ejs6w1
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TIL some bodybuilders buy breast milk on the internet as they believe it helps them bulk up. There's no proof it does.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/body-builders-pounding-breast-milk/story?id=29020910
https://redd.it/1ej1aqv
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TIL that the French waved the white flag as a symbol of military command.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flag#Ancien_R.C3.A9gime_in_France
https://redd.it/1ej3vjj
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TIL that in 1884 a 14-year-old Canadian Native boy was accused of a murder and was subsequently lynched by an American mob led by two men who were likely the real murderers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Sam
https://redd.it/1ej8xhk
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TIL Hugh Laurie shot his audition tape for House from a bathroom in Namibia because that was the only room with enough light.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Laurie?wprov=sfti1
https://redd.it/1ejeor5
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