› added 4 years ago

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TIL that King Henry VII of England extracted £48,000 worth of "loving contributions" from his subjects in 1491, despite the practice having been outlawed seven years earlier

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b9eVZ TIL that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, participated in a psychological study as a teenager. Subjects had their beliefs attacked by a "personally abusive" attorney. Their faces were recorded, and their expressions of rage were played back to them repeatedly. Kaczynski logged 200 hours in the study.
VMGR8 TIL that Even Though A Fart Can Make It Through Pants, A Mask Can Still Protect You From A Virus
pkrN TIL that in 1987, FBI agent Robert Hanssen was tasked by his superiors to find a mole within the agency after the FBI’s moles in the KGB were caught. In reality, he was the mole, working with the KGB since 1979.
YpVDA TIL of the English succession wars which all started because 3 of England's potential heirs drowned in the English Channel. The white ship sank in 1120 with the legitimate son of Henry 1st, William, his bastard, Richard and his daughter Matilda, on board.
wlL7 TIL an Archerfish rotates its eyes to lock onto prey (i.e. insects), has its lips break the surface, and squirts a jet of water. It contracts its gills so the water at the rear travels faster than at the front, causing it to become a blob directly before impact. They can shoot prey 3-6 feet away.