› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Joseph-Ignace Guillotin did not invent the guillotine. He opposed executions and when he was unable to have them abolished, he suggested "decapitation by means of a simple mechanism." as the most humane method. When the device was finally invented, it was given his name.

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7rmeX TIL that as an alternative Jewish Homeland to then British Palestine, Stalin's USSR set aside a small part of Siberia as a Jewish autonomous region. While largely unsuccessful the autonomous region still exists today. A collective farm was even called "Stalinfeld"
jKwX TIL a man started a horseback ride from Patagonia to Alaska in 1994. He arrived this year.
O9oa TIL the film Lord of War (2005) was officially endorsed by the human rights group Amnesty International for highlighting the arms trafficking by the international arms industry
m1WmR TIL that anti-climb paint, is a non-drying oil-based paint that can take over three years to cure. It's used to deter trespassing by making surfaces difficult to climb and identifying intruders, as it's tough to remove.
vx98 TIL barcode scanners scan the white bars not the black ones