› added 11 years ago

86

TIL that when Mossad agents discovered Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hiding in Argentina, they kidnapped him off the street in broad daylight and smuggled him back to Israel on a commercial flight by drugging him and dressing him as a flight attendant.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

PwVL TIL Ray Bradbury wrote a short story about a giant, firebreathing lizard which was made into a 1953 film. This film inspired a Japanese producer to make Godzilla in 1954
BgdNk TIL of the Canadian commander Charles De Salaberry who defeated the American invasion of Montreal. Salaberry deployed marching buglers to play in all different directions, meaning his American opponents didn’t know how many men he had or what direction they were coming from.
b5YE TIL Alexander the Great once organized an Olympic Games to honor a dead religious leader. However, since the Indians weren’t familiar with Greek sport, he opted for a wine-drinking contest instead. 41 contestants died and the winner lived for just four days after his victory.
nLPB TIL a defense lawyer sat a random person at the defendant’s table. When the prosecution’s only witness, a police officer, was asked to point to the defendant in the room, the cop pointed to the man at the defense table. The real client was declared not guilty; the defense lawyer was held in contempt
j6MRX TIL in the Ottoman tradition, the throne did not automatically pass to the eldest son. Rather, potential heirs were expected to fight it out. As soon as the sultan died, the princes were plunged into a race for the throne. Whichever brother won the throne would have the other brothers executed.