Post * Vpr8 — Curious Curator

› added 11 years ago

66

TIL in the Roman Empire, to increase the dwindling population of the upper class, families with three children were given tax exemption. Many sought loopholes to get the benefits without the burden of three kids, resulting in a network of government spies and informers to catch them.

Read more

kB6d TIL that the Japanese Type 99 bolt action rifle used in WW2 featured anti-aircraft sights for leading planes

PYr1O TIL in 1903, Dr. Horatio Jackson won a $50 bet when he and Sewall Crocker became the first to cross the U.S. in an automobile. The 2 month trip from San Francisco to New York City cost Jackson an estimated $8,000.

KOvmB TIL that the mystery as to what happened to Martin Bormann, Hitler's Private Secretary and former Deputy Fuhrer, was solved in 1999 when his remains were positively identified by DNA testing.

J1Lg4 TIL that stonefish is the most venomous known fish in the world and stings can cause death if not treated. Some Indigenous Australians have corroborees which involve re-enacting the death of someone who trod on the fish.

gAkL TIL During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England.