› added 11 years ago

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TIL that a Tang Dynasty general sent lewdly dressed girls to perform an obscene dance in order to distract the opposing army. While they’re watching he attacks them from behind with his cavalry. 500 soldiers died that day.

LkMXp TIL of Inmate 4859, Witold Pilecki, a Polish intelligence officer that voluntarily entered Auschwitz to gather intel. He escaped and reported the atrocities occurring at Auschwitz. His report was dismissed under the belief that he was exaggerating what was occurring at Auschwitz.
jojM TIL 99.9% of Calico Cats are female. If there is a male, it is usually sterile because it is a gene mutation.
E1690 TIL the Bon Jovi song “August 7, 4:15”’was written about the strange death of his tour manager’s daughter who was just 6. She was found at the side of the road just a few houses away from her house. Her cause of death was blunt force trauma but what killed her remains speculation today.
awlMJ TIL that renowned scientist Michael Faraday, whose work on electromagnetism made him one of the most influential physicists in history, had little formal education. In particular his knowledge of maths extended only to the simplest algebra, and he was unaware of trigonometry.
pYyNZ TIL: That the use of toilet paper started in ancient China around the 2nd century BC. Prior to this, the ancient Romans used a "tersorium", consisting of a sponge on a stick. The stick would be soaked in a water channel in front of a toilet, and then stuck through a hole at the front of the toilet.