› added 12 years ago

61

TIL that when King Abdullah visited England the band of The Welsh Guard was forced to play a song for him (it’s tradition). Many members of the band disagreed with his policies, so they decided to play “The Imperial March” from Star Wars.

Read more ordoesitexplode.com

via bit.ly

xVkQ7 TIL Singer Sinead O’Connor revealed she was a victim of the Magdalene Laundries scandal. She caused worldwide controversy by tearing up a picture of the Pope on live television.
d6X8 TIL that in 1983, the Soviet Union shot down a commercial Korean flight (departing via Anchorage) when it drifted in Russian airspace. As a result, President Reagan declassified a secret U.S. military system to aid international flight tracking. Today this system is known as GPS.
O6w7 TIL medical doctor Donald Unger cracked the knuckles of his left hand every day for more than sixty years, but he did not crack the knuckles of his right hand. No arthritis or other ailments formed in either hand, earning him the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine
5YXNR TIL that in 1908 Germany issued "transvestite certificates" with the support of scientists and psychologists. The certificates allowed people to legally wear clothing that contradicted their assigned biological sex.
ADw0w TIL that cinnamon is harvested through inner bark from Cinnamomum verum trees.