› added 7 years ago

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TIL that it was common for prisoners in the Soviet Union to tattoo Marx, Lenin, and Engles over their vital organs, because the firing squads could not shoot images of the USSR’s founding fathers.

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78Rk7 TIL the full name of Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was "Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga", which translates to "The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake."
mxDmp TIL Thailand's aircraft carrier, HTMS Chakri Naruebet, was dubbed the "Thai-tanic" as being little more than a royal yacht.
b9geE TIL that the patterns we see when we close our eyes are called Phosphenes. They are caused by electrical or mechanical stimulation of the retina, which is active even when our eyes are closed.
jNV1p TIL that when MLK jr day was introduced, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas intentionally packaged the holiday together with the celebration of confederate general Robert E. Lee's birthday to avoid giving MLK jr. his own holiday.
4boJ TIL: Scientists have discovered how to change human leukemia cells into harmless immune cells