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TIL that Julius Caesar was captured by pirates and negotiated his own ransom up. From time to time he would threaten to have them all crucified. After the ransom was paid and Caesar went free, Caesar managed to raise a naval force despite holding no office, capturing the pirates and crucified them.

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8aa8X TIL of the term "Sitzkrieg" which describes the lack of major military action during an active war, mainly describing the eight months of time between when Great Britain and France declared war on Germany before any major operations were executed.
rgnx TIL doctors from UCLA found unique blood cells that can help fight infections in a man from Seattle’s spleen, so they stole the cells from his body and developed it into medicine without paying him, getting his consent, or even letting him know they were doing it.
ZNw4 TIL that in 2013, Wallace Hartley’s violin was confirmed found in a British man’s attic and was eventually sold at an auction for $1.7 million. Hartley is famous for leading the eight member band as the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912.
LYyr TIL that after the capture of a serial killer of children, a police officer found his own daughter tied and gagged in the back of the killer’s van.
8WYP TIL In 1996,Børge Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica coast to coast, alone and without support—1,864 miles through the most desolate landscape on Earth.