› added 8 years ago

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TIL Aaron Swartz, a tech whiz-kid and political activist, tried to liberate almost 5 million restricted articles and $50,000 worth of text books to the public, but ended up facing $1m and 35 years in jail, which ultimately drove him to hang himself.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

wL677 TIL that during the Cold War, an American CIA agent devised a psychological warfare plan to drop very large condoms labelled "medium" to intimidate and demoralize the Soviet troops. The plan was not executed.
d8GXE TIL there is an actual sport where competitors chase a 9 pound wheel of cheese down a hill
Ool5L TIL Henry Ford was an anti-semite and was given an award by the nazi regime in 1938
j6o8X TIL that there is a hairy, bearded baby. This is because he has a condition known as lanugo.
j6eNX TIL Hezekiah's Tunnel is a collection of tunnels in the rock beneath Jerusalem. It was built around 700 BCE to prepare for a siege by the Assyrians. Some of them are still used.