› added 9 years ago

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TIL of Robert Smalls; an escaped slave who captured and sailed a Confederate ship to the Union with 8 enslaved families, including his. He was awarded today’s equivalent of $34,000 for commandeering the ship, won a seat in the House of Representatives, and purchased his former slavemaster’s house.

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JLG1 TIL wild bananas are full of seeds and the ones we eat have been specially bred over the years to be seedless
oBXOA TIL when Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released on LaserDisc in 1994 it was found that animators had included brief flashes of nudity from Jessica Rabbit. After Variety broke the story, many LaserDisc retailers reported that their entire inventory sold out within minutes.
8aZVL TIL that in order to aid recruitment during WWI, the British allowed men from the same town to serve together in "pals battalions". This was stopped after the Battle of the Somme, in which casualties were so high amongst some units that almost the entire male population of some towns was wiped out.
e6jg TIL that James Doohan who played Scotty in Star Trek was shot six times during D-Day by friendly fire. 4 times in his leg, once in his chest, and once in his right middle finger. A cigarette case stopped the round in his chest which most likely would have been fatal.
b9bL7 TIL Sandals found in Fort Rock Cave have been dated to over 10,000 years old.