› added 3 minutes ago

TIL about Ibn al-Haytham, a 10th-century scientist who changed how we understand the science of vision. He once pretended to be insane to escape execution and used his house arrest to write important works on optics.

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eXMJ TIL Henry Ford was a big admirer of Adolf Hitler, and continued to do business with in Nazi Germany, including building war materiel and using French POWs as slave labor. Hitler also admired Ford, keeping a life size portrait of him next to his desk.
QJbNa TIL That in 1889 a postcard was sent from Australia to Scotland and didn't arrive until 2001 - 112 years late
WoON TIL that Stephan Hawking believes that communicating with aliens is dangerous for the Earth.
6MJ7 TIL that the original plan for the May 15 Incident, an attempted coup d'état in Japan in 1932, was to assassinate Charlie Chaplin to facilitate war with the US. When the prime minister was killed, Chaplin was with the prime minister’s son watching a sumo wrestling match, which saved their lives.
GY4D4 TIl that the first use of the 'temporary insanity defense' in the U.S. WAS WHEN IN 1859, a Congressman SHOT AND KILLED a man who was having an affair with his wife. THE man killed was Philip Barton Key II,SON OF THE STAR spangled Banner author Francis Scott Key.