› added 13 years ago

259

TIL Japan fines fat people

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DmwD TIL that in WW2 nine airmen escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids. 8 of these men were captured, tortured, beheaded and eaten. The 9th man was George H. W. Bush
R7y9a TIL that during the 1965 Algerian coup d'état that overthrew Ahmed Ben Bella, army units who were moving through the streets of Algiers didn't raise alarm because they were mistaken for extras for the film "The Battle of Algiers", which was being filmed in the capital at the time.
e5bJ TIL of Hero ants. These ants live in cliffs/high places and latch onto intruders of the colony. They then fling themselves off the cliff, taking the intruder with them.
mxyay TIL the word "America" is a latinized version of Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer who voyaged to the "new world" and published two popular booklets in Europe about the new continent. This inspired cartographer Martin Waldseemüller to label the new land after him on his maps, creating the trend.
v1DmK TIL Covered bridges are designed with roofs to protect and preserve the wooden structure from the elements. Uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 20 years because of the effects of rain and sun, but a covered bridge could last 100 years