› added 9 years ago

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TIL that before Saladin died in 1193, he had given away all his wealth to his poor subjects. His estate consisted of 1 piece of gold and 40 pieces of silver, not enough to pay for his funeral.

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X7Bj TIL Erwin Rommel on being condemned to death for the July 20th plot against Adolf Hitler, chose an offer of suicide and took a cyanide pill, both to protect his staff and as a ‘blood guilt’ (Sippenhaft) law meant that his family would have been punished as well, and in this way both could be spared.
8ad9L TIL: In JFK’s 1946 congressional race, his campaign hired a janitor named Joe Russo to run against him and Boston City Councillor Joe Russo to confuse voters and split the “Russo” vote.
QNx8M TIL that the rescue and relief efforts for the Oklahoma City Bombing had to be evacuated after police found a supposedly live 3-foot long TOW missile believed to be a second bomb. It was discovered to be inert but marked live for a planned law enforcement sting
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