› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Kevin Costner offered CIA operative and watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt $5 million to tell the truth about what happened in Dallas when JFK was assassinated.

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mx8kY TIL of the only surgeon in history to perform an operation with a 300% mortality rate: Dr Robert Liston. During the famous operation, the doctor lost his patient and accidentally caused the death of both his assistant and an elderly bystander.
neLZ7 TIL the standard airline practice of pre-boarding (i.e., allowing passengers with small children and those who need extra assistance to board first) actually improves boarding efficiency by 28% and decreases time to takeoff.
yXga TIL that Belgium is building a beer pipeline that will move 1,500 gallons of beer per hour
kO9w5 TIL: Alice Seeley Harris, a missionary who documented the horrendous abuse and mutilation under Leopold II, King of Belgium.
gDd8 TIL one of the earliest weapons of mass destruction was used during the Siege of Antwerp in 1585. A Dutch explosive fire ship containing 4 tons of explosive rammed a fortified Spanish bridge, killing 800 spaniards, causing a small tsunami, and vibrating windows 22 miles away