› added 4 years ago

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TIL that the Bicycle playing card company made decks of cards and gave them to the prisoners of war in Germany with hidden escape routes revealed when the cards were soaked in water as Christmas presents.

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9o6Q TIL former president of Liberia Charles King holds the Guinness World record for the most fraudulent election ever having won the 1927 election with 234,000 votes in a country of 15,000 voters
o8Eo TIL our walking speed is affected by whom we’re with. On average, women walking together move the slowest, men slow down 7% when walking with female partners they’re interested in, and men walking with male friends move at speeds faster than either man’s preferred walking speed.
b649p TIL nazi preparations to invade Britain (Operation Sea Lion) after France fell in 1940 were obvious to the British, so they began to bolster their defenses to make any invasion as costly as possible. This included removing all street, road, and railway signs to sow maximum confusion in the enemy.
jNGBn TIL John Williamas had no plans to compose the soundtrack for the Star Wars series. When he was writing for the first one, he was told there wouldn't be a second moving. Following the success of the movie, they told him that a second movie was cooking, and thus, the themes and leitmotifs were born!
ADVJa TIL The original name of the Grateful Dead was the Warlocks. They changed their name when they realized there was another band with the same name. That other band later changed their name to... The Velvet Underground.