› added 11 years ago

127

TIL most English translations of Jules Verne’s novels omit a lot of scientific exposition (sometimes entire chapters), replace lots of dialogue with short summaries, censor supposedly “anti-British"or"anti-American” sentiment, add many errors, and sometimes add whole new scenes.

Read more jv.gilead.org.il

via reddit.com

lo9l7 TIL about the WW2 battle between the destroyer USS Borie and U-405, in which the two ships collided and became locked together. The crews had to resort to fighting at close range, with small arms and anything they could get their hands on. One German sailor was even killed by a thrown sheath knife.
yQmDa TIL of Michael Shirley, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and served 16 years in prison before his conviction was quashed due to new DNA evidence. He would have been released after the minimum tariff of 15 years had he confessed to the murder to the parole board, but he refused.
6W4Q TIL French Queen Marie Antoinette had a fully functioning peasant village built on the grounds of Versailles. She loved strolling the village in simple shepherdess garb pretending to live a simple life milking cows or sheep, which were carefully maintained and cleaned by the servants.
lZwV TIL of Washoe, a chimpanzee who was taught sign language. When one of her trainers returned after a while away Washoe was initially dismissive of her, but when the trainer signed “My baby died”, Washoe signed “cry” and mimmicked a tear running down her face.
61Ll TIL in order to game Texas’ “Top 10% Rule”, students have been known to transfer to less competitive high schools for easier chances of automatic admission