› added 7 years ago

80

TIL that in 1795, nearly one sixth of the entire U.S. federal budget was sent to Algeria as a ransom for 115 American sailors captured by pirates.

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OD1 TIL Stalin once said to Winston Churchill, “God is on your side? Is He a Conservative? The Devil’s on my side, he’s a good Communist.”
QJy1X TIL that there is a security system designed in South Africa to protect against the abundance of carjackers. The security system is just an under mounted flamethrower that the driver can use to light potential thieves on fire. It is completely legal in South Africa.
0mXR TIL The Ravens at the Tower of London are treated as enlisted soldiers and have been discharged in the past for “unsatisfactory conduct”
X8Zj TIL 30% of Americans don’t drink alcohol at all, 60% drink less than 1 drink a week. The top 10% drink ~74 drinks a week.
NY16 TIL that, during a hostage crisis in 1985, Russian special forces took the kidnappers’ relatives as hostages, dismembered them and sent their body parts to the kidnappers as a negotiation/intimidation trick.