› added 4 years ago

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TIL Vasily Arkhipov was the sole officer aboard a submarine who refused to authorize a nuclear strike, presumably saving the world from nuclear destruction during the cold war.

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y7Mp TIL: When General Lee met with his adversary, Grant, to surrender at Appomattox CH. Lee insisted upon his soldiers rights to keep their horses if they had one. Grant agreed understanding that if a former soldier was to return to the farm he had left, he’d need a horse to put the next crop in with.
dPr8 TIL that if a norwegian loses his/her job or can’t find a job, the state will pay you a salary until you find a job. It’s called NAV.
X0ABX TIL King Louis XI plotted to kill a court astrologer who correctly predicted a death in his court fearing he'd done it himself. Before giving his guards the signal he asked if he knew when he'd die and the astrologer responded "I shall die just three days before your Majesty." He lived a full life.
VBYX0 TIL when Christopher Columbus landed in Lisbon after his first voyage, Portuguese authorities demanded a report of his travels. Columbus refused and sent a letter full of misinformation to the king of Spain so that Portugal wouldn't get a headstart on invading the Americas if it was intercepted.
b9a1p TIL of Kari's Law. In 2013 a woman was murdered in a hotel room by her husband while her nine-year-old daughter tried to call 911 four times. The calls did not go through because the hotel phones required all calls to start with 9 (making 911 9911). The law removes the need for the 9 in hotel phones