› added 10 years ago

137

TIL of Albert Battel, a German officer serving in the Wehrmacht during WWII, who commanded his whole unit to protect Jews and threatened the SS to kill them if they crossed a bridge into a Jewish ghetto to round them up.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

MoGb TIL The town of Lauderhill, Florida was supposed to present actor James Earl Jones with a plaque for their annual Martin Luther King celebration. The company in charge of making it printed the name “James Earl Ray” on it. James Earl Ray was the man who killed Martin Luther King.
wgrW TIL:in 1927, James Dole the “Pineapple King” sponsored the Dole Air Race, putting up a prize of $25,000 for the first airplane to fly from Oakland to Honolulu and $10,000 for second place. Those prizes were won by the only two airplanes to survive the flight. Ten other people died in their attempts.
YpB6B TIL A pedestrian scramble is a type of traffic signal movement that stops all vehicular traffic, allowing pedestrians to cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally, at the same time. Research shows it can reduce pedestrian casualties by 38%.
kOg85 TIL that the company formed by the Beatles to handle their wealth was mismanaged by them and exploited by their employees who purchased drugs and alcohol, lunched at expensive restaurants, and made regularly international calls, and lent money to people never to be seen again.
VM5E4 TIL the first NBA draft took place in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan even though that city didn't have a team at the time.