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TIL Leo Tolstoy wrote a book in 1908 called “Letter to a Hindu” in which he argued that the only way for India to gain independence from Britain was through non-violent resistance. Gandhi read this book and others by Tolstoy. They struck up a correspondence and the course of history was changed.

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VBkA8 TIL of Georg Elser who spent a year planning the elaborate assassination of Hitler by hollowing out a pillar in a hall where he would speak and filling it with time bombs. Hitler left 13 minutes before the bombs went off; his flight was cancelled due to fog, so he started early to get a train.
xV59D TIL that Samuel McCulloch, a freed slave, was the first Texian soldier to be wounded during the Texas Revolution, in 1835. A law later prohibited freed slaves from residing in the Republic of Texas, but specifically excluded McCulloch, his family, and his descendants in recognition of his service.
AJYn TIL that 3 schizophrenics who all thought they were jesus were put together in a psych ward for 2 years for an experiment. Each of the 3 concluded that he was still jesus and the other 2 were insane/not
evrL TIL the myth that carrots improve night vision was started on purpose in WII as an explanation for why german planes kept getting shot down at night. In reality, radar had just been invented.
MeQ7B TIL that Clement Vallandigham, a defense lawyer in a murder trial accidentally shot himself and died while reenacting the possibility of a victim accidentally shooting and killing themselves instead of his client. The defendant was then set free.