› added 8 years ago

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TIL that during the Civil Rights Movement, the Soviet Union purposely inflamed racial tensions by mailing forged threats from the KKK to black neighborhoods

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ne98P TIL black people are less likely to know how to swim due, in part, to historic bans on black people swimming in public pools. In 1964, a motel manager poured acid in the pool to scare away black swimmers who were staging a "swim in."
x6BB1 TIL Alcohol isn't allowed on the International Space Station. It's not banned purely for intoxication or health risk. It's banned because alcohol is a volatile compound which can damage the ISS' water filtration system. NASA also bans mouthwash, aftershave and perfumes for this same reason.
KOrpB TIL That Chicago passed an Ugly Law that prevented anyone who was disabled, deformed, or an unsightly or disgusting object from exposing themselves to public view. Beggars were fined from $1.00 up to $50.00, or shipped to the poorhouse. This law was active in Chicago until 1974.
1a9D8 TIL that the vas deferens can regenerate (grow back) even if as much as five centimeters (two inches) of it have been surgically removed.
jN5Kp TIL Sweden has a higher percentage of English speakers than Canada.