› added 11 years ago

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TIL - Nikola Tesla was a proponent of an imposed selective breeding version of eugenics. Eugenics is the belief and practice which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population.

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glv4 TIL a man was sent a letter offering him a credit card but he didn’t like the terms. So he altered the contract to include unlimited credit at 0% interest which the bank automatically accepted but then tried to void his card. He sued the bank for not sticking to terms of the credit contract and won.
x6X0D TIL that in 1943 Herman the Cat was officially hired by the United States Coast Guard as an “Expert Mouser” to essentially control or eradicate the rodent population aboard ships.
N7VQE TIL that after he was shot down and captured by the USSR in 1960, CIA pilot Gary Powers tried not to share intelligence with the KGB, but he was hampered by western press. A KGB major stated "there's no reason for you to withhold information. We'll find it out anyway. Your press will give it to us."
N7Be6 TIL of Charondas, a Greek lawgiver from Sicily, that issued a law that anyone who brought weapons into the Assembly must be put to death. One day, he arrived at the Assembly after hunting in the countryside with a knife still attached to his belt. In order to uphold his own law, he committed suicide
KYa7Q TIL that in 1920 Detroit, MI proposed a private-public partnership to construct several dozen miles of subway lines. The mayor, believing the city to be too small for a subway system, vetoed the proposal. An attempt to override the veto by the city council would fall short by a single vote.