› added 8 years ago

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TIL when the Soviet Union was pushing towards Berlin, an SS soldier was forced to play a piano for his captors. They made it clear in sign language that he would be executed the moment he stopped. He played for 22 hours, after which he collapsed in tears. They congratulated him, then shot him.

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oRBwr TIL the aboriginal tradition of firestick burning by their ancestors disrupted Australia's ancient ecosystem, ending the monsoon season, killing the megafauna, and turning the inland forests into desert.
jNJpR TIL that the japanese anime Sailor Moon originally depicted Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus as a lesbian couple who often shared tender moments and longing glances. But when distributors took the show abroad, their relationship got altered.
E1JPP TIL not many people know about the largest bomb ever detonated. About 15x stronger than the nukes used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I'd like to introduce you all to the Tsar Bomba. King of bombs.
JYVB1 TIL that wearing forbidden Western fashion, like denim, jewelry, and hair dye, is used by North Korean millennials to show their defiance of the regime - but a women's union and youth groups monitor the streets to shame and beat rule-breakers, cutting off ponytails and destroying tight trousers
woPZW TIL Eldey island supported the last remnant population of the great auks. Museums, desiring the skins of the auk for preservation and display, began collecting birds. The last pair, were killed there in 1844, when they were strangled and the last egg of the species was cracked during the struggle.