› added 5 years ago

66

TIL prior to production of Valkyrie (2008), German Defence Ministry said that filming would not be allowed at the country's military sites. Because Tom Cruise is a member of Scientology, which is viewed as a dangerous cult by the German authorities

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

GY8w7 TIL Britain prepared secret ‘Auxiliary Units’ tasked with guerrilla activities in case of a full scale invasion and would operate behind enemy lines to cause as much destruction as possible to German forces and had survival rates of just 12 days if activated and lived underground.
AN6Qa TIL United States is the only country in the world which applies the same tax regime to all its citizens, regardless of where they live
M7mv0 TIL The People of the Swiss town of Champagne is not allowed to use their name on any product produced there. Due to a deal struck between Switzerland and the EU.
b6RM4 TIL Benjamin Franklin turned a rival into a friend by asking him for a favor and thanking him later. This is called the "Benjamin Franklin Effect".
8aRML TIL of Nellie Bly, a 19th century female journalist who went around the world in 72 days, pretended to be insane in order to expose the deplorable conditions in mental asylums, patented two designs for steel cans and ran a million-dollar iron manufacturing business, all before the age of 40.