› added 4 months ago

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TIL that in the 1970s Theo Albrecht (one of the founders of Aldi) was kidnapped, haggled the ransom down to 7 million marks and (unsucessfully) tried to claim the ransom as a tax deductible business expense

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KOe0G TIL that from 2005 to 2013 there were two Albert IIs reigning as heads of state: Albert II, King of the Belgians, and Albert II, Prince of Monaco
e0EmL TIL: During the 14th century ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days. This practice is where we get the word "quarantine" from the Italian "quaranta" meaning "forty"
vNm7 TIL that Superb Fairy-wrens teach their eggs a ‘secret password’ that the young can sing when they hatch. Those that sing the password get food, and the brood parasite eggs (which don’t learn the password) go hungry!
5VWlQ TIL that Olive Oatman, a white girl kidnapped by Native Americans in 1851 and sold to the Mojave people as a slave, caused an uproar after returning to white society bare-breasted with blue tattoos across her face, which inspired the book "Life Among the Indians", an early American best seller.
n1M9 TIL red, green, and yellow peppers are all the same species of plants that are in different stages of ripening.