› added 2 years ago

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TIL a US law firm set up honeypots on torrent-sharing site The Pirate Bay and then sued people who downloaded their torrents. The matter reached the FBI and the pirate site accepted to collaborate with the feds resulting in the crooked lawyers getting jail time.

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4XnNa TIL that in 1953, an Australian Centurion main battle tank survived a nuclear test that was only 500 yards away. Later nicknamed the Atomic Tank, it went on to serve in the Australian military for 23 more years, including 15 months of service in Vietnam.
Oo7Y7 TIL that when America fought for independence during the American Revolution, 40,000 British citizens fled to Canada to remain faithful to the crown.
e08ED TIL that the largest battle of WW2 was known as the Rzhev Meat Grinder (Ржевская мясорубка), led to about 3 million casualties, but has been largely forgotten as it was inconclusive for both sides and overshadowed by Stalingrad.
Oo4Zg TIL in 1832, a US ship was captured by pirate Pedro Gilbert. After, he had part of filled with explosives, before setting it on fire with the crew trapped inside. However, they escaped and doused the flames, letting smoke billow out until the pirates had left. 6 weeks later, they returned to port.
NXw78 TIL There is a hamlet in Montenegro called Japan. The most popular source attributes the name to a soldier who told the Montenegrin king his greatest wish is to bring water to the village from the source of Brituljak. When asked of its location, the soldier added it's as far away as Japan.