› added 8 years ago

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TIL During the battle of Verdun, a German soldier single handedly infiltrated Fort Douaumont after his unit refused to enter. Not a shot was fired, as he captured all resistance inside. He didn’t receive credit for this until the 30s.

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vkY7 TIL that James Cameron corrected the stars that appeared in the night sky in the 2012 3D version of Titanic after Neil deGrasse Tyson sent him a snarky email saying at that time of year, in that position in the Atlantic in 1912 Rose would not have seen those stars.
N7xjJ TIL that black walnut trees produce a toxin that is released from their roots, that can weaken or kill other plants near them.
JYwBk TIL that singer R Kelly is illiterate
yxdM TIL that great white sharks are able to detect electromagnetic fields emitted by movement of animals, they are so sensitive that they can detect variations up to a billionth of a volt. At close range this allows them to hear heartbeats.
Lp6P TIL In 1950, an 18-year-old American POW in Korea began keeping a secret list of all the deaths he saw while in Chinese captivity. His list was lost by the Army and rediscovered in 1995 at a veteran’s reunion, granting closure to more than 400 families.