› added 1 year ago

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TIL about Major Josef Gangl, a Wehrmacht officer and the only known fatality from the Battle of Castle Itter, where Wehrmacht soldiers teamed with American soldiers to defend the castle from the Waffen SS. He died while escorting former French Prime Minister, Paul Raynaud, to safety.

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kJxy1 TIL that the last documented human sacrifice by Mapuche indians happened in 1960, after an earthquake and tsunami. A five-year-old had his legs and arms amputed, stuck into the sand like a stake and his body carried by the ocean. A Chilean judge left them free based on "ancient tradition"
0we6A TIL Those who see Earth from space experience “The Overview Effect:” A remarkable sense of connection with the rest of the human race, and a desire for world peace.
neZQ7 TIL the National Park Service has officially advised against sacrificing slower friends in a bear attack, ‘even if the friendship has run its course’
pYmrZ TIL about François Vatel, who was in charge of a banquet for 2000 people in honour of King Louis XIV in 1671. He committed suicide during preparations for the meal after a seafood delivery was late, and was only discovered when someone was sent to inform him that it had arrived.
0dOJy TIL James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale exercised influence over "rotten" boroughs like Cockermouth and had an affair with a tenant upon whose death he refused burial and placed her decaying corpse in a glass-topped coffin in a cupboard. He was often called "the Earl of Toadstool" or "Wicked Jimmy."