› added 4 days ago

4

TIL that in the '70s and early '80s, women in Syrian Defense Companies' special forces were forced to bite the heads off live snakes during training, while children in paramilitary programs were trained to stab live puppies to death.

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18E7 TIL that In 1949, the U.S. Military created a synthetic version of Marijuana called “Dimethylheptylpyran.” Just 1 mg can have effects lasting for 3 days.
oBBYE TIL Before being offered the role of Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins had quit Hollywood to go back to England, feeling that the rest of his mediocre career would be spent on stage and "doing respectable BBC work."
NXGaM TIL that the first atheist organization was the National Secular Society, founded in the UK in 1866. They gained attention for their promotion of birth control and sex education.
wLY5M TIL of the Idiot Plot, defined by Roger Ebert, where a story is only happening because all of the characters involved are being idiots (not sharing key info, jumping to assumptions, etc)
Pwdn TIL that fascist dictator Francisco Franco brought back the Spanish Monarchy, but the King of Spain instituted a democracy instead as soon as he came into power.