› added 4 months ago

21

TIL that in ancient Rome, urine was so valuable for cleaning and tanning leather that emperors placed a tax on it.

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via reddit.com

JYnRk TIL that when the German Bundeswehr adopted the German developed Leopard-2 tank, they demonstrated how good it’s main gun stabiliser was by balancing a stein full of beer on the end of the gun whilst driving off road. Not a drop of beer was spilt.
KOJYR TIL there's a legal strategy called the "Shaggy Defence", where in the face of direct evidence of guilt, the defendant simply claims that it wasn't them.
W19 TIL in WWII, both Allied and Axis forces, specifically pilots, were known to be methamphetamine users, so much so that it was nicknamed “Pilot’s Salt”.
W7Rb9 TIL that NASA engineers use a “chicken gun” to test the durability of airplane windshields. They fire dead chickens at high speeds to simulate bird strikes during flight. It sounds ridiculous, but it's a crucial safety measure!
woYZP TIL of Orania: South Africa's only remaining whites only town