› added 8 months ago

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TIL The Ottoman Empire forcibly kidnapped Christian boys from their families, converted them to Islam, and forced them to serve the Sultan

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Jggm TIL Ronald Reagan once joked on a un-aired NPR broadcast that the US had declared war on Russia, the broadcast was later leaked and caused a portion of the Soviet Army to go on alert for 30 minutes.
nWPk9 TIL Central African Republic leader, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, spent years looking for his long-lost daughter Martine, whom he fathered while serving in Vietnam. The first "Martine” was exposed as a fraud when the real Martine was found. Bokassa accepted both as his daughters and adopted the fake Martine.
1aR8r TIL that just about 90 years ago, humans believed that there's only one galaxy (ours) that's surrounded by infinite dark space. Today we know there are at least 400 Billion galaxies, some visible to the naked eye.
xV6vo TIL hair salons in the UK have started to include a "quiet chair" for people who don't want to engage in small talk while getting their hair cut.
oGEY TIL that rabbits are so delicate animals that they can die of fright. Children younger than 12 should not have rabbits as pets.