› added 11 years ago

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TIL a jury can acquit a defendant they believe to be guilty if they disagree with the law before them or believe breaking the law in the case before them was justified.

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kOK1 TIL J.P. Morgan’s big break started in the Civil War by buying 5,000 defective rifles (shot off troops thumbs) from the US Army Arsenal for $3.50 ea. and then selling them back to a general in the field for $22 ea. He then escaped service from the war by paying $300 for a substitute.
E1ZVV TIL on July 17, 1955, within a week of Disneyland opening, operator error resulted in the caboose of the Disneyland Railroad crashing and derailing. During the ensuing commotion, the brakeman at fault "quietly left the scene of the accident, exited the park, and was not seen again".
QN4nX TIL the man who created the medical residency system for doctors was addicted to cocaine and morphine
b6MwQ TIL Montgomery's memoirs criticised many of his wartime comrades harshly, including Eisenhower. After publishing it, he had to apologize in a radio broadcast to avoid a lawsuit. He was also stripped of his honorary citizenship of Alabama, and was challenged to a duel by an Italian lawyer.
LQx0d TIL that in 1978, Kim Jong Il abducted the famous South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her then ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, in order to make North Korean propaganda films. Shin attempted to flee and was imprisoned for 3 years before finally agreeing to shoot the films. They escaped in 1986.