› added 12 years ago

103

TIL during the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, one Israeli tank commander single-handedly fought off an entire advancing Syrian tank battalion, taking advantage of the darkness and moving constantly to make the Syrians believe they were facing a full Israeli armored division while destroying 40 Syrian tanks.

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rLZd TIL that Melbourne officials gave ID numbers to trees so the public could report damaged branches. People wrote love letters to the trees instead.
kJABm TIL: Local Indonesian mythology says that Orangutans actually have the ability to speak human languages, but choose not to, fearing they would be forced to get jobs and work if were they ever caught.
vEWj TIL AOL still makes about $600 million a year from dial-up Internet subscriptions.
OGB7e TIL that the University of Michigan's prized Galileo manuscript turned out to be a clever forgery.
7rLNO TIL that there are "Neomexicanos" of New Mexico that identify themselves as Spanish/Europeans in America since they are derived from Spanish settlers that arrived in New Mexico before the 16th century