› added 5 years ago

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TIL Serial conman, Derek Alldred, created fake lives in order to deplete women of their savings. Derek scammed a dozen women out of $1 million dollars, until his victims united to help cops charge him with 2 counts of identity theft and one count of mail fraud, a penalty of 24 years in prison.

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nWEQ7 TIL the German airline Lufthansa is derived from Luft meaning air and Hansa, the trading empire that dominated Europe in the Middle Ages.
yV0oX TIL that the Bee Gees replaced the last chorus of "Islands In The Stream" with the lyrics of Ghetto Supastar, in their greatest hits version
5VKBQ TIL in 1943, a U.S. bomber took 11 direct hits to its fuel tanks—but none exploded. The bombs were empty, and one carried a Czech note saying, 'This is all we can do for you now.'"
DQ51P TIL in 1993 there was a prototype navigation system which used a compass and wheel sensors to direct people
W7g99 TIL: The Pinky Swear or the Pinky Promise has origins in Japan from 1600 where it is called yubikiri "finger cut-off" and often additionally confirmed with the vow "Pinky swear, whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles"