› added 3 months ago

17

TIL in 1948 a state of emergency was declared in the British colony of Malaya (now Malaysia) as Malayan rebels were attacking rubber plantations and mines. The insurgency was described as an 'emergency' because insurers would not have compensated plantation owners if it had been labelled a 'war'.

Read more nam.ac.uk

via reddit.com

aEO9 TIL that in 1976, both Republicans and Democrats signed a Declaration of Interdependence stating that “exploitation of the poor by the rich, and the weak by the strong violates our common humanity” and “resources of the globe are finite, not infinite”
wowQ8 TIL Biting insects continue to be used as sutures in parts of Africa and South America. The edges of the wound are brought together, and an ant is allowed to bite through both ‘lips’; when its jaws are firmly locked, the insect’s thorax and abdomen are broken off, leaving the head and jaws.
698LZ TIL about Tarrare, a French spy and Performer who had such an appetite he would eat live cats and puppies, cadavers from morgues and was even suspected of kidnapping and eating a baby. He would also eat from heaps of dung in the street and as a spy, the entire army's rations.
neNPB TIL when you die in Super Mario Bros. you can hold down the A button while you hit Start to continue from the the world where you left off.
xVN9w TIL that the cartoon superhero spoof, ambiguously gay duo, one of Robert Smigel's cartoon sketches for TV Funhouse and shown on Saturday Night Live, was voiced by Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell