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TIL The previous heir to North Korea is believed to have lost his position as the heir after he tried getting into Disneyland in Japan with a fake passport. He was then exiled from the country and later assassinated him in 2017 after many failed attempts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-nam
https://redd.it/1famiui
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TIL Key West declared independence from the United States in 1982, then declared war, then immediately surrendered to apply for foreign aid, after being frustrated by the lack of response from the US government to complaints about a roadblock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_Republic
https://redd.it/1f9d0rx
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TIL that it would take ~18months to walk the Great Wall of China 🇨🇳
https://www.exploreworldwide.com/blog/the-7-wonders-great-wall-of-china#:~:text=Winding%20its%20staggering%20way%20along,months%20to%20walk%20its%20length
https://redd.it/1f9nr1h
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TIL hat Richard Pryor's off-screen drug issues cost both him and Gene Wilder a major success. They were originally set to star as the leads in Trading Places
https://www.biography.com/actors/richard-pryor-gene-wilder-friendship
https://redd.it/1f9z4h7
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TIL that until earlier this year it was legal for apartments in Austin, Texas to have no windows, and that landlords often didn't disclose this in advertisements
https://theconversation.com/college-students-in-austin-texas-have-dwelled-in-windowless-rooms-for-years-heres-why-the-city-finally-decided-to-ban-them-228349
https://redd.it/1f9lhc8
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TIL Alcohol isn't allowed on the International Space Station. It's not banned purely for intoxication or health risk. It's banned because alcohol is a volatile compound which can damage the ISS' water filtration system. NASA also bans mouthwash, aftershave and perfumes for this same reason.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170217-why-astronauts-are-banned-from-getting-drunk-in-space
https://redd.it/1f9scrf
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TIL that Emperor Frederick II of the HRE was wholly uninterested in ruling Germany, he moved the imperial capital to Palermo, in Sicily, spoke Sicilian at his court and granted more autonomy to German princes, leading to the decentralization of Germany, so that he could focus on his beloved Sicily.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
https://redd.it/1f8u5cd
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TIL Juliane de Fontevrault, the illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England, tried to kill him with a crossbow after he permitted the blinding of her daughters, his grandchildren, who were hostages at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_de_Fontevrault
https://redd.it/1f96c8d
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TIL about the Chapati movement of 1857 in India where thousands of flatbreads were mysteriously distributed across North Indian villages. It is still a mystery as to who did this and why with both local Indians and the British assuming it was the other's doings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapati_Movement
https://redd.it/1f8r7d7
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TIL that unauthorized alteration of an FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Poster is a violation of United States federal law.
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten
https://redd.it/1f9174o
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TIL in 2001 King Mswati III Imposed a ban on Sex with girls under 18. 2 months later he marries his 9th wife who was 17 and fined himself "1 Cow" for breaking the law. In 2005 he repeals the law so he can marry another girl who was aged 17 - then 3 months later he marries another 18 year old girl.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4283932.stm
https://redd.it/1f94oz3
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TIL darker skin people need more sunlight to make vitamin D. One experiment where a light skinned person was in sunlight for 8 hours saw their vitamin D concentration go up by 50x while a dark skinned person saw no change. They needed 5-10 times the sunlight length and then only saw a 30x change.
https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~zhall/chem507/vitDskin.html
https://redd.it/1f7po3i
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TIL: The Tomb of Christ is a site in Japan where they claim Jesus was really buried. This is complete with a burial site, Hebrew plaque and an accompanying origin story (complete with Jesus using a body double) explaining his journey to and death in Japan.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-little-known-legend-of-jesus-in-japan-165354242/
https://redd.it/1f8dzqc
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TIL That 'Animal House' was able to film at the University of Oregon largely because the University's President had previously refused to allow 'The Graduate' to film there due to "lack of artistic merit".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_House
https://redd.it/1f7xbea
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TIL that bird migration wasn’t proved until 1822. Before then, theories to explain their seasonal disappearance included hibernation and transforming into mice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfeilstorch?wprov=sfti1
https://redd.it/1f8632r
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TIL that the character Frieza from Dragon Ball Z, known for his ruthless destruction of planets to profit from their resale, was inspired by the behavior of real estate speculators during Japan's economic bubble in the 1980s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frieza#Creation_and_conception
https://redd.it/1f9uzjr
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TIL that Fahrenheit 451 was serialized in Playboy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451#Publication_history
https://redd.it/1f9u4pf
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TIL that the NCAA was originally founded to protect college athletes from the brutality of early college football. In 1904 alone, there were 159 serious injuries and 18 deaths on the field.
https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/5/4/history.aspx
https://redd.it/1f9kc1a
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TIL Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, organized soup kitchens and orphanages during the Nazi occupation of Greece. She would give away her own food to people on the street and she hid Jews in her home. She was also born deaf.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alice_of_Battenberg
https://redd.it/1f9v7y0
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TIL that during the last months of World War II, the Germans, British, and Americans agreed to a limited ceasefire to allow the the Allies to airdrop food to starving Dutch civilians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_Manna_and_Chowhound
https://redd.it/1f9sk1f
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TIL that Aruba 🇦🇼, a small Dutch Caribbean island of 110k people, is one of the most diverse islands of the Caribbean. Being home to over 130 nationalities and 1/3 of it's population being foreign born. 75% of Arubans are of mixed European, Native and African descent.
https://cbs.aw/wp/index.php/2022/09/21/country-of-birth-and-nationality/
https://redd.it/1f925qj
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TIL that Winnipeg, Canada was "mock invaded" by German troops during WWII - 3800 troops, tanks, air-raid sirens and black outs - in an effort to sell Victory Loan bonds.
https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2022/11/the-day-winnipeg-was-invaded/
https://redd.it/1f8uhzh
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TIL that the largest urban area by population outside of Asia is São Paulo, Brazil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo
https://redd.it/1f8tdhf
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TIL about the Italian standard LMG during WW2, designed for alpine climate but used in deserts, it had a violent recoil, clips only held 20 rounds, they had to be oiled before they were inserted, it frequently overheated and exploded, and had a rate of fire comparable to a semi-automatic rifle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breda_30
https://redd.it/1f94j33
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TIL there was a British plan during WWIl to seal up soldiers in a hidden Gibraltar bunker so they could observe German military movements even if Gibraltar was captured.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tracer
https://redd.it/1f92yb7
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TIL that the living component of an acre of soil, may include 900 lb of earthworms, 2400 lb of fungi, 1500 lb of bacteria, 133 lb of protozoa and 890 lb of arthropods and algae.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil#Soil_organic_matter
https://redd.it/1f7yxxv
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TIL Halo 2 was delayed for PC because someone stuck a picture of themselves mooning the camera into the game's code.
https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/7/8361223/halo-2-vista-was-a-real-thing
https://redd.it/1f7r0yc
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TIL Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, exonerated two innocent men by investigating their cases in his free time. This, in part, led to the establishment of England's criminal appeal system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle
https://redd.it/1f85vxs
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TIL that stealing sand is the largest organized crime activity in India.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/sand-is-such-high-demand-people-are-stealing-tons-it.htm
https://redd.it/1f82irr
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TIL 71 year old Bernard Gore was supposed to meet his wife and daughter in a mall in Sydney after first doing a little shopping himself. Instead, he exited a mall door leading to a stairwell labyrinth and was found dead 3 weeks later failing to find his way out.
https://news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/nightmare-in-westfield-how-bernard-gore-died-after-being-trapped-in-westfield-shopping-centre-stairwell/news-story/d06bc0b1917e88059015eab73e9c2867
https://redd.it/1f85j4r
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