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TIL that during a siege in 1857, a mysterious Scottish soldier watched one his comrades get shot, and announced that he had joined the regiment simply to see that man die. He then ran into a breach singing Bible verses and trying unsuccessfully to get himself killed.

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8aWvG TIL in 1984 NASA crashed a fully fueled Boeing passenger jet, with crash dummies as passengers and pilots into the Mojave desert. The crash was filmed from multiple angles at high speed in 16MM film. The knowledge gained from this test lead to major changes in airline flight safety standards.
9wd9p TIL in 2016, 19-year-old Florida frat boy Austin Harrouff walked into a garage and killed two strangers, biting one of the victims' faces. He thought he was “half man, half dog” and being chased by a demon. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
kOw6B TIL that an organ in a German church has been playing John Cage's piece "As Slow as Possible" since 2001 and is expected to finish in 2640.
dmPZ TIL that no matter the evidence, if a jury feels a law is unjust, it is permitted to “nullify” the law rather than finding someone guilty
NY58 TIL that in 1893 geologist and explorer Major John Wesley Powell told the Los Angeles International Irrigation Congress, “Gentlemen, you are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not sufficient water to supply the land.” He was booed out of the hall.