› added 12 years ago

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TIL that L. Ron Hubbard was relieved of command of his U.S. Navy ship for accidentally attacking Mexico. His ship later burst into flames and sank.

R5JMw TIL about British Army general and MP, Eyre Coote who lost his seat and was dismissed for "Conduct unbecoming of an officer" in 1815 after being discovered to have entered a school and had paid boys to flog him. He was "acquitted" of criminal charges after donating £1000 to the school.
1aJkW Have you ever played with a pocket-sized laser, wondering how far its light would travel? Could you, a naughty student inside a classroom on Earth, annoy a poor substitute teacher on Mars by waggling your laser pointer at him? T​he short answer: no. By the time the light finally reached Mars, the glint would be a million times dimmer than the faintest light visible to the human eye.
QJeZe TIL of Michael Patterson, a man who jumped into a creek to save a drowning four-year-old girl. He ended up severing his spinal cord during the rescue and paralyzing both of his legs and one of his arms. He also suffered other injuries. He later died in hospital.
PYpwL TIL bone spurs are permanent deposits and do not heal and go away
OoP5g TiL about the December 14th 1944 Palawan massacre where Japanese imperial soldiers lit American soldiers on fire by sounding an air raid siren to lead them to a trench filled with gasoline instead of an air raid shelter. Of the 150 American POWs only 11 survived and escaped to American lines.