› added 10 years ago

95

TIL that one of the reasons the US entered the First World War was because the British intercepted a German telegram to Mexico asking them to declare war on the US and in return Mexico would receive Texas and California

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

vZX4 TIL Lil Wayne had his life saved by an off duty police officer who drove him to the hospital after the rapper accidentally shot himself as a child.
a8vEJ TIL Japanese Katana were using Chinese Tang Dynasty Sword (Dao) as prototypes for their own variant. Katana metal folding technique were used to compensate the quality of the japanese iron impurity as Chinese Dynasties restricted export of weapon material like iron to neighbours
7rWEO TIL that Dickens' A Christmas Carol is largely responsible for modern Christmas Celebrations
b9paE TIL that Joseph Stalin was a huge fan of John Wayne and his movies, but considered having him assassinated for his outspoken anti-communist politics.
Z8QND TIL female muscle stem cells are better than their male counterparts at regenerating lost muscle.