› added 6 years ago

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TIL In 2011 Oprah found out she has a sister she never knew existed and now takes care of her financially because Oprah was so impressed that her sister spent 3 years trying to contact Oprah with no luck and never once tried to sell the story to the press. (You have to see the video I linked)

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BgW9e TIL The Norwegian heavy-water saboteurs in 1943 put the whole operation on ice for 2 or 3 minutes to help the man guarding the facility find his misplaced glasses. After they found his glasses, they lit the fuses and the sabotage was a success. All saboteurs got out alive without any shots fired.
rE9W TIL There is a “moose test” in Sweden, which requires all cars to be able to evade a moose without flipping, should one suddenly appear on the road.
ADXVw TIL because American textbooks are sold at a lower price in Thailand, somebody was reselling them in the US and making enough of a profit to get sued by the publishers, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the publishers because the "first sale" doctrine applies everywhere, not just the US
Lbbd TIL there is a giant species of shark that lives under ice near the north pole, eats polar bears and lives for over 200 years. Oh, and the Vikings used to hunt them and eat their flesh even though it stinks and tastes like pee
gM16X TIL that the sub USS Archerfish was credited with only one sinking during WW2, the Japanese supercarrier Shinano. This remains the largest ship ever sunk by a sub, and measured by tonnage the most successful US patrol of the war.