› added 12 years ago

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TIL because the Black Guillemot lives on cliffs, it lays pointed eggs so that instead of rolling off the cliffs they spin in tight circles

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QNrKM TIL After the battle of Sedan, over 100,000 French soldiers were captured, including Emperor Napoleon III himself, but he headed to a "comfortable captivity" while his soldiers were left starving in makeshift POW camps. On hearing the news, Napoleon's wife asked "why didn't he kill himself?"
P17YO TIL about Walburga “Dolly” Oesterreich, a woman who, in 1922, claimed her husband was murdered by a burglar. The shooter was actually her lover, Otto Sanhuber, who she’d hidden in her attic for ten years. Due to legal technicalities, neither were found guilty
9YAOQ TIL that in June 2012, Customs and Border Protection held two Seattle men for two and a half hours after discovering six Kinder Surprise eggs in their car upon returning to the US from a trip to Vancouver. A border guard quoted the potential fine as US $2,500 per egg.
J1BkQ TIL The first bridge to span the Mississippi River was built in 1855 near Minneapolis. The Father Louis Hennepin Suspension Bridge charged a toll. Price for pigs and sheep was 2 cents, humans paid 3 cents, horses cost 15 cents and carriages cost 25 cents.
W77V9 TIL about the “true history”. A short satirical novel written in the 100s by Lucian of samosata that has been stated by some to be the oldest Sci-fi novel in history. It features Lucian travelling to the moon, getting embroiled in a war between the moon and sun and meeting the heroes of the illiad.