› added 1 year ago

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TIL: A family of 12 performers, 7 of whom were dwarves, all survived Auschwitz after being separated by Mengele. Several prisoners who survived claimed they believed they were hallucinating when they saw seven well-dressed dwarves passing by.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

6EP4Q TIL Nestlé once gave mothers in third world nations baby formula which lasted just long enough for their breast milk to run which caused infant deaths due to lack of ability and knowledge to properly prepare the formula
0dg0M TIL that Admiral Nelson's Spanish opponent at the Battle of Trafalgar, Federico Gravina said "I am a dying man, but I die happy; I am going, I hope and trust, to join Nelson, the greatest hero that the world perhaps has produced." while dying from wounds sustained during the battle
yQN5w TIL when the first concrete bridge in Asia was opened in Muvattupuzha(India) in 1914, the chief engineer W H Emrald and his wife sat beneath the bridge in a boat while 15 elephants walked over it to convince the public that the bridge is strong & stable
LkKvP TIL heart surgeon Ellsworth Wareham lead and completed more than 12,000 surgeries up until he was 74 when he then assisted and trained other doctors until he was 95. He drove until 100 and did yard work until the age of 104 when he passed away at home peacefully with his wife of 68 years at his side
9Y8jM TIL that people sentenced to death by beheading were advised to give the headsman a gold coin to ensure he did not botch the beheading and cause a painful death by multiple strokes