› added 7 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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ADv1l TIL that the US once had a "postal savings system" in which post offices could essentially double as banks. Many countries have active postal savings systems. The US' was discontinued in 1966.
QBdE TIL Of a bank in Italy which offers loans in exchange for wheels of cheese. Currently they house 430,000 wheels, with a value up to 190 million euros.
BgynD TIL Gondola, the famous boat used in Venice, was a war boat with its peculiar front used as an iron axe in naval wars to protect the Serenissima republic of Venice
9kZp TIL Margaret Thatcher was one of the few Conservative MPs to support Bill to decriminalize male homosexuality in 1966.
KP4w TIL By paying a fee of $300 you could officially and legally avoid the civil war draft. You could also find a substitute to fight in your place, a tactic the rich often used to avoid being enlisted. To encourage recruits to join, even Abraham Lincoln paid a man $500 to enlist on his behalf.