› added 12 years ago

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TIL that a species of bird, the European Magpie, is the only non-mammal to have ever passed a self-recognition test, and has a level of intelligence comparable to that of a chimpanzee.

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4Xgeg TIL Georg Gärtner was the last German POW in America. He escaped from a camp in the U.S and took on a new identity. He was on the FBI’s most wanted list for 40 years, until he ‘surrendered’ on the Today Show. He was not charged as an illegal immigrant as he was brought to America against his will
1RNW TIL that in 1914, at the summer home of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, a manservant at the residence became deranged, setting half the house ablaze; he then went on to murder seven people with an axe as the fires burned. Among the dead were Wright’s mistress and her 2 children.
xVkBb TIL The Chernobyl nuclear disaster would have been much worse if not for three men who dove into contaminated water with minimal diving equipment, risking their own lives in the process.
nWkW7 TIL in 1910 the American Hippo Bill (resolution 23261) was introduced in congress. It had the goal of authorizing the importation and release of hippos in the bayous of america. Both to control an invasive species and as a meat source. It had support strong support, including Roosevelt and the USDA
Vaym TIL that the Jeddah Tower, which is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia and will be the tallest building in the world upon its completion, is being constructed by the Saudi Binladin Group, which is owned by the family of Osama bin Laden, who destroyed two of the world’s largest buildings.