› added 5 years ago

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TIL that on June 23, 2014 Charles R. Moore a white minister from Texas set himself on fire to protest racism

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via reddit.com

l9k7 TIL that due to a clerical error, the state of Missouri assumed that a man named Mike Anderson was in prison, serving his 13-year sentence for armed robbery. It’s only when they began preparing for his release did they realise that law-enforcement had forgotten to take him to jail.
D1JRD Til that Frank Zappa was once pushed off stage by a jealous fan almost killing him and resulting in permanently lowering his voice
awPGJ TIL It's possible to become the Rain Man(toothpick scene) through transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) that disables the left anterior temporal lobe. Participants were tested in counting 50-150 dots with 1.5 seconds of image exposure. 10/12 people improved after TMS.
5VKEr TIL of Joe Arridy who was a 23-year-old man with an IQ score of 46 and the mind of a six-year-old who was wrongfully convicted and executed in 1939. He did not understand the meaning of the gas chamber, telling the warden "No, no, Joe won't die". He smiled while being taken to the gas chamber.
78P5L TIL apparently all or most fish are soniferous and a group at the University of Victoria has begun compiling a recorded database of fish sounds from various species. The link goes to the toadfish's sounds.