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TIL that Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II had young infants raised without speaking to them in the 13th century to determine if there was a "natural" language imparted by God. His experiments proven unsuccessful because all the children raised this way died.

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XEr56 TIL the FBI built a multi-million dollar eavesdropping tunnel under the Soviet Embassy in Washington, but never used it in the fear of getting caught, instead giving tours of it to high-security officials. It was only discovered by the Soviets when US double-agent Robert Hanssen informed them.
ByXD TIL: When you drop molten glass into water it creates a tadpole design. The bulbous head is resistant to hammer blows, but minor damage to the tail cause it to explode.
GBB4 TIL Salman Rushdie loves Super Mario World. He played the game religiously while he was in hiding, to the great annoyance of his wife.
97WD TIL That a US professor proposed the idea that a president’s nuclear launch codes should be kept in a capsule surgically implanted in the chest of an assistant. Extracting the codes would require him to hack open the assistant’s chest and be responsible for one life before killing millions more.
KKja TIL The Gympie Gympie shrub has a toxin so potent that it can cause stinging for days, months and even years. There is one report of a man who used the leaf for ‘toilet purposes’ shooting himself due to the unbearable pain.