› added 12 years ago

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TIL Asparagus was once included in the emergency ration kits given to American pilots because it made their urine attractive to fish, making them easier to catch.

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yQd0J TIL The Chief Baker of the Titanic survived paddling for three hours in the frigid Atlantic waters after the sinking of the ship. This was due to a combination of two factors; he'd drunk a decent amount of alcohol, and he was a very good swimmer. He was the last man to leave the ship.
DXeV TIL in Star Wars, the Sith were originally red-skinned humanoids that lived on a planet the dark-side using Jedi were exiled to. Using the Force, they became worshiped by the natives, and became a “Dark Lord of the Sith.”
R57G4 TIL the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Public Health Service are home to their own uniformed service corps that are separate from the U.S. military.
grPB4 TIL the indigenous Sami people of northern Scandinavia are actually people who broke off from Eastern European tribes around 1500 BC and migrated far north. They lived in relative isolation until the 19th century, subsisting on reindeer and fishing.
PYWxL TIL - Victor Lustig, a German con artist, designed and sold a "money box" which he claimed could print $100 bills. A victim, sensing profits, would buy the machine for a high price. Stocked with six to nine genuine $100 bills for demonstration purposes, but after that it produced only blank paper.