› added 6 years ago

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TIL: a holocaust denial group offered $50k to anyone who could prove that gas chambers were used to intentionally kill people at Auschwitz. They were forced by a judge to pay the money, and an additional $40k, to Auschwitz survivor Mel Mermelstein who gave proof of that very fact.

D1BDJ TIL chief justice John Marshall and his fellow justices enjoyed Madeira wine, but set a rule that they would only drink on rainy days. When Marshall was told it was a sunny day, he said, 'this is a large area we have jurisdiction over, I'm sure it's raining somewhere.'
YpGvW TIL That the Pillars of Creation were probably destroyed 6000 years ago. This was discovered after new photo from Spitzer Space Telescope showed dustclouds from a supernova shockwave that happened 6000 years ago.
xBOD TIL that in 2004 a Texas man was put to death for killing his family in an arson attack. The jailhouse snitch has admitted he lied, and top scientists/investigators have not been able to find any reason to think the house fire was anything other than a freak accident.
n1x9 TIL: A Robot keeps escaping because of its ‘love for freedom’ even after undergoing extensive reprogramming to avoid the issue. They might not have any other option but to shut it down
p8anb TIL Chinese King Tang ordered golden coins to be made and distributed to poor families who had been forced to sell their children because of the drought. It was intended for them to use this money to buy their children back