› added 2 months ago

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TIL before King Leopold II of Belgium had his own colony in the Congo, he attempted to acquire the Philippines from Spain in the 1860s.

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p8yBp TIL that Georgia Tann kidnapped up to 5000 babies whilst working as a social worker and sold them to the black market over 30 years. Her close friends in high places, such as a tycoon and a judge were able to remove missing persons reports and threaten people with legal action if they pursued.
WkeV9 TIL that in an attempt to modernize Newfoundland, Canada, the province's Premier hired the former Latvian Minister of Finance, Alfred Valdmanis. While industrializing the province, Valdmanis embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars before being unmasked as a criminal and former Nazi collaborator.
78xGL TIL that the Wendel Family was an eccentric and reclusive New York real estate dynasty in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They wore outdated Victorian clothing and refused to install modern utilities. Ella, the last surviving sibling, was famous for her many poodles, all named Toby.
lWlK TIL about “token sucking” - someone, generally a homeless person, earns his sustenance by clogging the token receptacle in the subway turnstile with gum or a paperclip. The tokens become backed up in the receptacle and then “sucks them out by placing his lips around the opening and inhaling.”
5VAM8 TIL that Mike Love gets a third of the royalties for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" for writing just one line ("Good night baby, sleep tight baby"), while Tony Asher gets only a sixth for writing the rest of the lyrics