› added 2 months ago

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TIL about Roland the Farter, a medieval flatulist in 12th Century England. Each Christmas, he was obliged to perform "saltum, siffletum, pettum" (a simultaneous jump, whistle, and fart) at King Henry II’s court. He was given 110 acres in Suffolk for his services.

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NkKJ TIL that there is a penguin in Japan named LaLa who has his own air conditioned room, wears a backpack and walks freely to the fish market.
oRNy8 TIL During World War I, the Germans bombed New York City by setting off explosives at an munitions plant killing 3 people and permanently damaging the torch on the Statue of Liberty. It helped draw the USA into World War I similar to the Pearl Harbor attack during World War II.
wlZM TIL that in 1974 a US soldier stole a helicopter and flew to the White House in Washington, D.C. As he hovered above the south grounds, the Executive Protective Service shot and injured him, forcing him to land. He only received a one-year prison sentence and $2,400 in fines.
VxKG TIL that during Vietnam, the US would play a soundtrack listed as the ‘Ghost tape’. It would play funeral songs and voices supposedly from the dead warning the soldiers to surrender or suffer the same fate.
l5WV TIL that the NYPD has officers known as the “hip-hop police” examine rap videos by rappers to build cases on gang-related shootings to get a better sense of the rivalries and hierarchy of the streets.