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TIL that the East German secret police force (the Stasi) once mailed a vibrator to a man’s wife in an attempt to drive him insane.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

GV7N TIL that the Greek navy maintains a reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme, the HS Olympias. Kept in dry dock in Athens, it is the only ship of its kind in the world.
rJMW TIL that as of 2013, Bill Gates had personally given US$28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
wDEP TIL in 2005 an engineer did a cabin pressure test & forgot to put the system back to auto. 115 passengers & 5 crew later passed out mid-flight through oxygen hypoxia. When 2 F16s made visual contact they saw the last conscious air-steward wave out the window before the plane crashed into a mountain.
PYZME TIL: There was an estimated 2.5 million people living in the original thirteen colonies in 1776
Wn0N TIL Paul McCartney’s condition for guest starring in The Simpsons episode “Lisa the Vegetarian” was that Lisa, who becomes a vegetarian in the episode, remain one for the rest of the series. The staff promised, resulting in one of the few permanent character changes made in the show.