› added 21 minutes ago

TIL about "Shanghaiing", or crimping, the once common practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors. The most successful "crimpers" could make $300,000+ in today's money. Despite technological advancements and multiple attempts at reform, it wasn't until 1915 that it was decisively outlawed.

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DQBVP TIL that the cover photo for the soundtrack to The Who documentary The Kids Are Alright was taken on the grounds of the Carl Schurz Monument in New York City's Morningside Park.
1ad4P TIL of the Movement for the Independence of Sicily, a Sicilian political party thats goal was the annexation of Sicily into the United States. Its best electoral result was in 1947, when it won 8.8% of the votes in the Sicilian regional election and had nine regional deputies elected.
0d5Pp TIL that grape jelly is a more popular spread than strawberry jelly on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
ANRra TIL that rhinoceros mating can be brutal. First the males fight for dominance. Then the female chases the male. This is called a "bluff and bluster" ritual, & lasts hours. It often becomes violent, with wrestling and fighting. Sometimes it can even lead to death.
a8JbM TIL a death row inmate in Tennessee discovered there were untested fingerprints that had been found at the original crime scene. In a last-ditch effort to prove his innocence, he successfully petitioned the courts to run the tests. They were found to be his own fingerprints.