› added 5 years ago

252

TIL about the giant wētā — an insect that looks like a cricket but is the size of a mouse.

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16ZoV TIL: A scientific paper examined data from Italian criminal records and found that the quality of Mafia accountants are some of the best in their professions and has detailed and meticulous financial statements. They and their firms also suffered no reputation loss for working with the Mafia.
jbDX TIL American Airlines once offered a lifelong unlimited first class ticket for $350K. 64 were purchased, and they were used by the passengers far more than expected. The CEO ended up personally asking them to be bought out, and was refused.
a89XM TIL that in July 2021, polling found that 58% of Western Cape voters were in favor of holding a referendum on secession from South Africa.
0wYpM TIL playwright and actor Noël Coward never publically confirmed that he was homosexual, even when it was known. When making a statement on his sexuality, he just said that "There are still a few old ladies in Worthing who don't know.".
v1XxK TIL The US cancelled $16.5 billion of Poland’s foreign debt as a reward for for a top secret Polish intelligence operation that extracted 6 CIA operatives from Iraq just before the Gulf War. Several countries refused to help in such a dangerous operation; only Poland agreed to help