› added 11 years ago

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TIL that during WWII, notorious American mobster Meyer Lansky broke up Nazi sympathizer meetings, protected U.S. ships during construction and watched out for German saboteurs on U.S. submarines along the Caribbean coastline.

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N7ZmM TIL that in 1140, when a opposition castle was captured by King Konrad III, the women of the castle were granted free departure and allowed to take what they could carry on their backs. Thinking quickly, the women carried the men on their backs. The King kept his word and let the men live.
VnYm TIL Japan has an “untouchable” class, the Burakumin, which still faces discrimination in some areas to this day.
R55r9 TIL Osama bin Laden's mother-in-law collapsed and died of shock on news of his death
LkQK9 TIL: Near-perfect ellipsoid lenses have been found among viking artifacts. Hinting that the Vikings likely made telescopes 1000 years ago, 500 years before Galileo.
xVlbg TIL Howard Hughes gave Orville Wright his last flight on a Lockheed Constellation. Orville said the wingspan on the Constellation was longer than their first flight.