› added 5 years ago

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TIL there is an very isolated island in the Pacific inhabited entirely by the descendants of a group of British sailors who mutinied against their captain in 1789, kidnapped a dozen Polynesian girls, and resolved to "run before the wind, and land upon the first island the ship drives."

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QJYPk TIL A roman consul was told before a crucial battle with Carthage that the auguries suggested he shouldn't go to battle, since the chicken didn't eat that day. Wishing to do it any way, he proclaimed "lets see if they will drink", and had the sacred chickens drowned. He fought and lost the battle
NR48 TIL Cotard Delusion is a rare mental illness in which the affected person holds the belief that they are already dead, do not exist, or have lost their blood or internal organs.
nWEeB TIL that there is such thing called "trapped keys" to prevent machines from being switched on automatically while someone is working on them
b97A9 TIL the green flash at the end of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is based on a real optical phenomenon
MeZMV TIL Swindon Police set off sirens to settle a 4 year olds debating over whether they go "nee-nah or woo-woo".