› added 11 years ago

232

TIL that JFK didn’t speak at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, and the debut of the Space Needle, not because of “a strong cold.” He was actually dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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oByR8 TIL After ordering multiple massacres, Zhang Xianzhong had his few remaining loyal servants carve a stele to explain his actions. The stele read: "Heaven Brings Forth Numerous Things to Nurture Man. Man Has Nothing Good With Which To Recompense Heaven. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill."
0dbjA TIL that production of hankos - personal seals used by Japanese instead of signatures - is the main driving factor behind illegal trade of ivory to Japan
moDo TIL that in 1805 Thomas Jefferson hosted an Iftar at the White House. An Iftar is the fast-breaking meal eaten at sunset during Ramadan.
pYZWN TIL the actual valve in freeze-proof outdoor faucets is way back inside the house, on the warm side of the insulation
X0J88 TIL Yang Liwei, China's first man in space, heard a mysterious knocking in space but it did not come from outside nor inside the spaceship. He has even tried - but failed - to recreate the sound so that experts could help him identify it