› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Gandhi left his Indian wife to have a homo-erotic relationship with German-Jewish bodybuilder named Hermann Kallenbach.

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rN6P0 TIL that rapidly unwinding a roll of Scotch tape can generate x-rays due to the triboelectric effect
4konw TIL homicide clearance rates in the US declined from a peak of 93% in 1962 to 64% in 1994. The rate then plateaued (with some variation) for the next 25 years. There is currently no satisfactory explanation for either the initial decline or why it ended when it did.
OoZL4 TIL that in 2007, the hijacking of a Mauritanian flight was thwarted. Over the PA, the pilot instructed the passengers that he was about to make a bumpy landing, and they should attack the hijacker while he was off balance. He said this in French, which the gunman did not speak. The ploy succeeded.
Bemx TIL: The richest 62 people in the world, have more money than the poorest 50% of the global population (3.562 billion people), combined.
mxy8y TIL in 1698, Emperor Peter of Russia created the "Beard Tax". If you paid 60 Rubels, you got given a 'beard token' which you used to prove you had paid. None-payers had their faces shaved off in public.