› added 3 years ago

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TIL The city of Washington D.C. launched a manhunt for "Jimmy," an 8-year-old heroin addict profiled in a Pulitzer-winning article. Mayor Marion Barry announced that Jimmy had been found and was being treated, which was revealed to be a lie after the entire article was also revealed as a lie

LQrYQ TIL that Jordan Rice, a 13-year-old Australian boy, became a symbol of courage during devastating floods when he sacrificed his life to save his younger brother. Despite his fear of water, his selfless act continues to inspire as a story of true heroism.
N4JN TIL that today in Canada, the penny will be removed from circulation. The cost to produce a new penny is about 1.6 cents. The savings to taxpayers by eliminating the production of the coin are estimated to be about $11 million per year. [FIXED]
VB4Rp TIL that during WWI (and briefly WWII) the British would shame men into joining the military by recruiting young women to call them cowards on the streets of their hometowns. These women would also pin a white feather on them to symbolize their cowardice.
4rpo TIL that while on an expedition into Africa during the late 19th century, James Jameson, heir to the Jameson Irish whiskey empire, bought a 10 yr old girl for six handkerchiefs and gave her to cannibals so he could witness and sketch her being eaten.
jNW0M TIL Judith Love Cohen, who helped create the Abort-Guidance System which rescued the Apollo 13 astronauts, went to work on the day she was in labor. She took a printout of a problem she was working on to the hospital. She called her boss and said she finished the problem and gave birth to Jack Black