› added 9 years ago

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TIL that Aki Ra - a former child soldier - has devoted his life to removing landmines, and caring for young landmine victims. He has personally removed and destroyed as many as 50,000 landmines from Cambodia, originally using no more than a knife, a hoe, and a stick

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G0J TIL: The shortest correspondence in history is between Victor Hugo and his publisher. Hugo was on vacation when Les Misérables was published. He telegraphed the single-character message “?” to his publisher, who replied with a single “!”
4gWw TIL of the 270 moon rocks the US gifted to the world, 180 are currently unaccounted for.
0wNRA TIL that rats are sometimes eaten in parts of France. In Bordeaux, there is a recipe that calls for the use of alcoholic rats who live in wine cellars. The rats are skinned and eviscerated, brushed with a thick sauce of olive oil and crushed shallots, and grilled over a fire of broken wine barrels.
Z86Bp TIL that a 1992 Japanese TV show combined English lessons with gymnastic exercise programs. On the show, three gymnasts would perform synchronized exercises while chanting phrases like, "Hasta la vista, baby," "Spare me my life!", "I was robbed by two men!", and "I have a bad case of diarrhea."
jNrrN TIL that Algerian women make up 70% of their lawyers, 60% of their judges, 65% of their university students and usually bring in more household income than their husbands.