› added 8 years ago

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TIL of Mark DeFriest. Believed to be an autistic savant, DeFreist was sentenced to four years in prison for ‘stealing’ tools left to him in his father’s will in 1979. Able to to memorize and reproduce jailers’ keys simply by looking at them, he’s been imprisoned 36 years due to multiple escapes.

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

oReeR TIL that after five divers became trapped in a Paria Fuel Trading Company oil pipeline, when making repairs to the pipe, with only one of them surviving, Paria admitted they had no rescue plan, citing that they had 'no legal responsibility to rescue the men'
grk4 TIL completely pure water freezes not at 0C but at -48C (water which freezes at 0C is contaminated with bacteria and other particles)
JYGoQ TIL K-pop members have to sign lengthy contracts which enforce them to practice a lot, gives the labels control over how they dress, what they say, and even who they have a romantic relationship with. Also, the government tailors schools to create talented singers and dancers. It is a business.
XlNk TIL in 1988 George Lucas spoke out against the altering of films & importance to preserve original versions
9YNR7 TIL that an American minister travelled to Britain to learn methods to teach the deaf. After being denied by the British, he learned his methods from the French. As a result, ASL has a 60% similarity to French sign language, and is almost unintelligible to a British sign language user.