› added 3 months ago

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TIL: In 1375, Enguerrand de Coucy led 10,000 mercenaries—the Guglers—into Switzerland to claim Habsburg lands. Swiss peasants defeated them in night raids. Years later, de Coucy denied ever being there.

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p8mw4 TIL Harvard Associate Professor Dr. Lester Grinspoon tried to prove pot was harmful to get his friend, Carl Sagan, to smoke less. He then wrote a book on the lies behind pot and prompted a study into using THC for chemo associated nausea and vomiting, after seeing results in his son with leukemia.
E1ye7 TIL about Dennis Dickey, a US Border agent who, as part of a gender reveal party, shot at a box which was packed with explosives. When hit, it emitted a cloud of blue smoke, but also set fire to the surrounding bush, destroying almost 45,000 acres of land. Dickey was ordered to pay $8m restitution.
1eL4 TIL that Mark Twain discouraged the use of exclamation marks because it is like laughing at your own joke
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VEDD TIL that 30 years ago, you could buy a Lifetime, Unlimited First-class Travel pass with American Airlines and now they’re Regretting it.