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TIL the story of William Tell shooting the apple on his son's head was punishment for refusing to submit to an official. Tell would be executed if he didn't hit the apple with a crossbow bolt. Tell drew two bolts, and hit it with his first shot. The second bolt was to kill the official if he missed!

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DLkr TIL the last Emperor of Ethiopia was deposed in 1975, almost 1000 years after the first Emperor was crowned.
0wAYy TIL that physicist Nikola Tesla once paid an overdue hotel bill with a box containing a working model of his ‘death beam‘, warning employees never to open it because of the danger. They hid the box & when it was discovered years later & opened, found to contain old (harmless) electrial parts.
J1Y5Q TIL about Jon Lech Johansen, a self-trained software engineer who created software that decoded DVD copy protection. Johansen defended himself against computer hacking charges, arguing he didn't access anyone else's information: he owned the DVDs. He was acquitted in 2003.
8aKBa TIL that people would have sex in graveyards to “laugh in the face of death”, during the Black Death. It became illegal and people were threatened with excommunication. It was thought that sexual immorality caused the plague, so prostitution and adultery were outlawed.
nex69 TIL that in the 1950's, donut shops were some of the first food businesses commonly open late at night. They became hot spots for police working the night shift since it gave them a place to grab a snack, fill out paper work, or even just take a break. This is why donuts became associated with cops.