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TIL that, due to the ineffectiveness of swords against plate armor, German knights would grip the blade with both hands and use the pommel as a club when fighting armored opponents.

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LkjWV TIL a pigeon, Gustav, carried the first word of the Normandy invasion back to the British mainland in WW2, as the fleet underwent radio silence at that time. He flew 150 miles in 5 hours 16 minutes. He was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery. He died after the war by being accidentally stepped on.
6Ed6X TIL the journey of Lennie Gwyther the 9 year old who rode 1000km to see the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on his pony, met the Prime Minister and received a bat from Don Bradman
v1D1D TIL animals can get drunk from eating fruit that has dropped from trees that has fermented
bZ4Q TIL there is still a woman alive who lost her fiance in World War I. Grace Jones, the last living Briton born before 1900, says she never married after the death of her young fiance Albert Rees in the war as she never found anyone as nice as him
Lkjxm TIL 8 people were killed while protesting NYC's cancellation of a protestant parade in 1870. When the city reversed course and let the parade proceed with an escort of 1500 policeman and 5000 national guardsmen, it turned into another riot that killed 60 and wounded 120.