› added 10 months ago

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TIL that a school principal once made a student who'd gotten into trouble sit in the basement & read the U.S. Constitution as punishment. That student (who committed the Constitution to memory as a result) was Thurgood Marshall, who went on to become the first Black Supreme Court justice.

Read more uscourts.gov

via reddit.com

Z89jD TIL When Terry Pratchett was knighted, he forged his own sword out of meteorite and 81kg of ore that he dug up and smelted using a makeshift kiln. Finished with silver and stored in a secret location, he said: It annoys me that knights aren't allowed to carry their swords. That would be knife crime.
R76m9 TIL Some witch hunts throughout history were likely caused by a fungus called ergot found in rye. Which is the same fungus used to make LSD, giving people hallucinations as well as painful muscular contractions, mania and psychosis. These symptoms were blamed on witchcraft.
4XY0a TIL that Mattel makes a bald Barbie doll named Ella to give (free of charge) to kids with cancer. It comes with wigs and other accessories.
Lkxxd TIL that March 16 is a national holiday in Latvia celebrating Latvians who served in the Nazi Waffen-SS during World War II
XE6Aj TIL about a canadian ex- banker who bought a slowly producing gold mine and created a controversial, online, open to public contest to find more sites. he offerd 500k$ prize and by using 3D model, an australian group helped him find more the 6Bn$ worth of gold without having ever visiting the site.