› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Kanzi, a male bonobo, once snapped twigs for a fire, lit them with matches, and toasted marshmallows on a stick. He is also an accomplished stone tool maker and can flake cutting knives. He can play and understand how to beat a game of Pac-Man, too.

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kL8m TIL that In 1923, jockey Frank Hayes won a race at Belmont Park in New York despite being dead. He suffered a heart attack mid-race, but his body stayed in the saddle until his horse crossed the line for a 20–1 outsider victory.
PgJJ TIL in 2009, a 9yo girl suffered a life-threatening pregnancy as a result of being repeatedly raped by her Step-Father. After the pregnancy was terminated, the performing Doctor and the girl’s mother were excommunicated by the Catholic Church. The Step-Father was not.
aRp0 TIL that at the surrender of the American Civil War, the Union troops began to cheer but Grant silenced them immediately. He later stated that “The Confederates were now our countrymen, and we did not want to exult over their downfall,”
j6ZKM TIL of Pigeon Guided Missiles where pigeons would follow an image, pecking at it, which would move the screen on its pivots. The sensors would detect the movement and send signals to the control surfaces, which would steer the bomb in the direction the screen had moved.
0dMxA TIL about Garderobe, Toilets in a Medieval Castle that were usually built into the walls, like a simple hole discharging to the outside into a cesspit (akin to a pit latrine) or the castle moat (like a fish pond toilet). It was believed that ammonia would protect visitors' coats and cloaks from moth