› added 5 years ago

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TIL that in 2012, a “guru” tricked a French family out of €4.5M by convincing them that they were the target of a secret conspiracy and that their lives were in danger. He persuaded them into barricading themselves into their family chateau, and then in a suburban house in Oxford.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

vP5lj TIL John Preston claimed that his dog, Harass II, had extraordinary forensics skills like tracking a scent months after the suspect had walked on the ground. At a rate of 300$ per day, he was hired by Florida authorities as an expert witness and helped convict as many as 100 people
mx9nv TIL The Honeymooners (1955-1956) sitcom was so successful that its formula (big oaf husband, smart sassy wife, zany neighbor) have been used on hundreds of other shows like The Flintstones, Jeffersons, Roseanne, Simpsons, Family Guy, King of Queens, Home Improvement, Family Matters, Martin, etc...
pYwBO TIL The expiration dates on plastic water bottles is for the plastic bottles not the water.
NnZP TIL guards at New Mexico State Penitentiary had a “snitch game”. They would label inmates as snitches, let them be abused, and wait for them to turn into informants to escape their tormentors.
j0dQ TIL Native Americans have Three Sisters Soup from their Three Sisters Agriculture from growing squash, climbing beans and corn together. The corn grows up, the climbing beans grow up the stalks, and the squash grows across the ground, covering all the roots and protecting them.