› added 6 years ago

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TIL that during the 'Son of Sam' murders in New York City, beauty supply stores had trouble meeting the demand for wigs after the police revealed that all the victims so far had long, dark hair––women changed their hair to avoid becoming victims

b9wj TIL the May 5, 1991 “Calvin and Hobbes” strip criticized the naming of The Big Bang as not evocative of the wonders behind it, and coined “Horrendous Space Kablooie,” an alternative that achieved some informal popularity among scientists and was often shortened to “the HSK.”
69r0l TIL that Sweden recently moved the entire mining town of Kiruna a few miles east, because the local iron mine started encroaching under the town. All historic buildings were moved, piece by piece, to their new locations.
69MYQ TIL that Andrée de Jongh, the mastermind that led the Comet Line during WWII, was saved from execution because Gestapo officers did not believe that such a small young girl could lead such an operation. The network, consisting of mainly young women, smuggled shot down airmen from Belgium to Spain.
vlpD TIL that in 1967 a history teacher performed an experiment with his class to find out why people allowed the Nazis to commit terrible acts. He brainwashed them using Nazi ideals and at the end of the week had several hundred teenage followers under his complete control before he revealed the truth
b9rbj TIL: 1k-10k sheets of toilet paper were manufactured during the early 14th century, what is now Zhejiang province... Elsewhere, wealthy people wiped themselves with wool, lace or hemp, while less wealthy people used their hand when defecating into rivers.