› added 10 years ago

1007

TIL pirates wore gold earrings to pay for the cost of their funeral if they were to wash ashore

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XxQD TIL that solid iron cannonballs kept underwater for a long time can explode once they reach the surface- [gas bubbles are trapped underwater at enormous pressure- once at surface, pressure is no longer equalized from within and without- ergo explosion potential]
L8Wm TIL that the ancient Greeks believed in the existence of the Cyclops because they found a mammoth skull fossil
wAKW TIL that US military operations during the 2003 Iraq invasion were originally conducted under the codename Operation Iraqi Liberation. They later changed it to Operation Iraqi Freedom because of the acronym.
oEnR TIL: There is a weekly protest in Korea at the Japanese embassy which aims at obtaining justice from the Japanese government regarding the large scale sexual slavery system established under Imperial Japan rule during World War II, it holds the world record as the oldest rally on a single theme
xVv5b TIL Despite being apex predators, orcas do not see humans as prey and they are even docile to them in some circumstances. There are no modern reports of fatalities caused by wild orcas.