› added 4 years ago

176

TIL in 1981 a CIA agent escaped Iran using a fake German passport. He was detained because it used the middle initial "H", and German passports didn't use initials. The quick-thinking agent was released after claiming that it stood for "Hitler" and he had special permission to use an initial.

Read more cia.gov

via reddit.com

9wLDX TIL The first deep water submarine rescue occurred in 1939. The submarine USS Sailfish sank off New Hampshire. 33 out of 59 of the crew had survived, trapped in a compartment that had not flooded. A newly developed device called the Mcann Rescue Chamber was used to rescue all the survivors.
OoBwg TIL Lays marketed a low calorie "WOW" brand of chips that made consumers crap their pants. The main ingredient, Olestra, is a fat substitute which allows for frying without calories being added. The problem is your body can't absorb it. Consumers suffered from cramping, diarrhea, and anal leakage.
woeB7 TIL about mail jumping, which is a way of delivering mail by jumping off a moving boat to a dock, putting mail into a mailbox, retrieving the outgoing mail, and then jumping back onto the moving boat. The USPS uses this method to deliver mail to houses on Geneva Lake from June 15 until September 15.
loGga TIL of Bo-Taoshi, a sport played in Japan with 2 teams of 75 players each. The goal is to try and steal the flag of the opposing team. Absolute mayhem erupts shortly after the game starts with dozens of pumped-up players jumping on top of each other to reach the top of the flagpole.
yV79e Today I learned that even daily recommended quantities of vitamin C are not enough to recover from a scurvy type of disease within a 6 month timeframe