› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Winston Churchill, after being told that he could not drink in front of Saudi King due to the King’s religious beliefs, said “my religion prescribed an absolute sacred rite smoking cigars and drinking alcohol before, after, and if need be during all meals and the intervals between them.”

OoYAe TIL Molotov cocktail was coined by the Finns. Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov claimed that bombs used on the Finnish was humanitarian aid, so Finns started calling them "Molotov bread baskets". When using incendiaries to counter Soviet tanks, they called them "a drink to go with the food"
OoDWL TIL after taking F. Scott Fitzgerald to the bathroom and checking the size of his penis, Ernest Hemingway reassured F. Scott Fitzgerald that his penis size was normal and he should confirm by checking the nude statues at the Louvre.
pYwwb TIL in the wake of the Mississippi Burning murders, the FBI, having no leads or informants, enlisted the help of mafia enforcer Gregory Scarpa. His kidnap and 'interrogation' of a local suspect provided the information the DOJ needed to prosecute within days.
wOZJ TIL that 0.5% to 0.7% of all words spoken are swear words
GYDp7 TIL that US sailors captured by North Korea, were flipping the middle finger in photos to protest the propaganda on their treatment. The North Koreans for months photographed them without knowing the real meaning of the finger, while the sailors explained that the sign meant good luck in Hawaii.