› added 11 years ago

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TIL: An artist attempted to hitchhike from Milan to the Middle East in a wedding dress to promote world peace. She was gang raped and murdered in Turkey. A Turkish newspaper said “Let’s face it, if Pippa were a Turk, some people would feel freer to say that a hitchhiking woman deserves to be raped.”

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LkQwd TIL that because of the austerity measures following the war, Queen Elizabeth had to use clothing ration coupons to pay for her wedding dress. She was given hundreds of clothing coupons by brides-to-be to help her, but she had to return the coupon gifts as it was illegal to transfer them.
dxQQ TIL that one cheap sleeping option for the homeless in London during the depression was sleeping on a clothesline. For twopence one could lean on a rope strung from one wall to another in a hostel. A “valet” would cut the rope at 5 am.
KQ5G TIL there is a whistle-blower known as Clare Francis (possibly a fake identity for multiple people) who is responsible for tipping off over 100 academic journals about suspected fraudulent research.
9YkRr Today I learned every year hundreds of Great White Sharks migrate to a random area in the mid-Pacific ocean and loiter around, no one knowing why. This area has been coined as the "White Shark Cafe'".
jLPM TIL that Metallica was the first band to play on all 7 continents.