› added 10 years ago

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TIL that during the Iran Hostage Crisis, American embassy staff tried to burn classified documents but the furnace malfunctioned, forcing them to use cheap paper shredders. After the takeover, Iran employed carpet weavers to put the shredded documents together.

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VM0NB TIL that the world record for most perfect games of Wii Sports Bowling played is held by John Bates, an 85 year old who played 20,000 games perfectly over a period of seven years.
N7dre TIL a Greyhound became a Saint in 13th Century France
epVNE TIL Hou Jing, a general during the China's North-South period, seized control of the government of the Liang dynasty by rebelling. After that, in an act of vanity, he gave himself the title of "General of the Universe, Past, Present, and Future, Commander of all Forces in the Six Directions".
gr1L7 TIL: Sunflowers (lanyards, buttons, etc) are a universal sign for those that have hidden disabilities and there's a massive network that supports this signage.
m115E TIL the Indy 500 isn't held in Indianapolis but rather in the town of Speedway, an enclave of Indianapolis laid out in 1912 by the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.