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TIL that the Bayanzi tribe of the Congo would execute via decapitation with a twist. While alive, the head of the condemned would be connected to a springy sapling so that when it was cut off, it would be thrown through the air “With the force of a bomb”.

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VM5xG TIL that when a fire broke out in a Brooklyn theater in 1876 there was only one stairwell accessible by the top floor guests which led to a stampede and jammed the exit. 278 of the 1,000 guests died which led to an overhaul of NYC's fire codes and theater regulations.
MeA70 TIL that a cafe in Japan is hiring paralysed people to to control robot servers in order to still make an income.
v1Brx TIL that cats only learnt to 'meow' for humans. Cats naturally communicate mostly through scent, then through facial expression, complex body language and touch.
4k48g TIL in 1924 Gladys Ingle and the Black Cat Hollywood Daredevil stunt team were able to replace a plane’s wheel while in the air and film it.
ZplvR TIL Brad Kane (the actor that provided the singing voice for the original Aladdin) went on to become a writer for such shows as Black Sails and Tokyo Vice.