› added 6 years ago

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TIL about Juan Pujol Garcia, a spy who single handedly saved thousands of lives during D-Day by using his made-up network of spies to convince the Germans that another attack was going to happen in Calais instead of Normandy. He was also the only person to be decorated by both the Axis and Allies.

KrjG TIL that paternity tests are outlawed in France and Germany “due to fears that more families could be broken by divorce if all fathers were given access to them.”
Eg0b7 TIL that during WWII the British submarine HMS Trident had a reindeer doe onboard named Pollyanna. An unexpected gift from the Soviet Union, Pollyanna reportedly adapted well to life onboard, ate several maps, and eventually survived the war to live out the rest of her life in a British zoo.
MeZkK TIL Tropical rainforests cover less than 3% of Earth's area, yet they are home to more than half our planet's terrestrial animal species. Bengal tigers, mountain gorillas, orangutans, jaguars, and blue poison dart frogs are just a few of the magnificent animals found in rainforests.
Zr1D TIL Vladimir the Great of Russia was confronted with the choice of converting Russia to Christianity or to Islam. He eventually chose Christianity, because of Islamic teaching on alcohol, saying, “Drinking is the joy of all Rus’. We cannot exist without that pleasure.”
oBLGR TIL that in 1987 107 people in Canada suffered from amnesiac shellfish poisoning after eating contaminated mussels. Symptoms included diarrhea, cramps and, permanent short term memory loss.