TIL marijuana laws are so strict in the UAE that a Briton was jailed for 4 years cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe; any trace of weed in your blood or urine is possession with a 4 year sentence.
TIL James Stockdale, a Vietnam War POW who didn't want to be in Vietnam, spent over seven years in a POW camp - four of them in solitary confinement and two in leg irons - and credits his Stoic philosophy studies for allowing him and his men to survive the constant torture and interrogation
TIL of Major Emmett Tulia, an F16 fighter pilot who successfully dodged SIX SAMs over Iraq in 1991. The video of this encounter is used in training today.
TIL the IQ classification scale in 1928 included the phrases ‘Moron’ (50-74), ‘Imbeciles’ (25-49) and ‘Idiots’ (0-24). So calling someone an idiot is actually pretty insulting.
TIL that while serving in the United States Army Elvis Presley was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal. He was also qualified as an expert marksman with multiple weapons.
TIL "jerry-rigged" is actually spelled "jury-rigged," from "jury" as in "temporary" and "rig" from its sailing origins.
TIL that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) can be caused by many factors, the most alarming being childhood trauma.
TIL there is a 1,700 year old Ethiopian counterpart of the Rosetta Stone called the Ezana Stone. The inscription commemorates Ethiopian military victories and their conversion to Christianity in their native language Ge’ez, as well as ancient Greek and South Arabian Sabaen.
TIL Jack Parsons was one of the founders of NASA JPL and a pioneer of the American space program. He also practiced esoteric magic rituals, and was a devoted follower of British occultist Aleister Crowley, and his group, The Ordo Templis Orientis.