› added 5 years ago

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TIL In 1883, gifts were distributed after a show in Victoria Hall. Many of the estimated 1100 children surged downstairs, but the door opened inward and had been bolted so only one could pass at a time. Those in front were crushed by those behind them. 183 children between the ages of 3 and 14 died.

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kNwW TIL: The Canadian RCMP systematically slaughtered the sled dogs of the Inuit until as late as the 1970s
grjML TIL that phosphorus was the first new element to be discovered since ancient times. In 1669, a German alchemist tried boiling and condensing urine in order to make the fabled philosopher’s stone. Instead, he discovered a substance that glowed in the dark and named it “phosphorus mirabilis.”
0dwoy TIL in 2017 fitness app Strava published a map showing every single activity ever uploaded to it, inadvertently revealing sensitive information about locations and layouts of military bases.
0wOnA TIL The infamous scene, in Mel Gibson's film "the Patriot" depicting the herding noncombatant men, women and children into a church, and setting it on fire is based on the SS massacre of French villagers in Oradour-Sur-Glane in 1944. Nothing like this ever happened in the American Revolution.
69PXm TIL The story of Revere's famous ride in which he was said to warned colonial militia by yelling "The British are coming!" was actually false. The operation was meant to be quiet and stealthy, since British troops were hiding. Also, colonial Americans still considered themselves to be British.