› added 7 years ago

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TIL that in the middle of the Great Depression, a man placed an offer in an Ohio newspaper, saying: If you’re in trouble, write me. Many people sent him desperate letters, needing things like shoes, a coat, mercy, food, and to save their family from despair. And back came checks, under a pseudonym.

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via reddit.com

JJpm TIL during initial showings of a scene in the 1903 film “The Great Train Robbery” where a character fires a gun straight at the camera, it is said audience members ducked and put their fingers in their ears, despite the film being silent; some are even said to have fired back at the screen.
Nmw6 TIL New College (f 1379) has a hall made with oak beams. A century ago it was found the beams were infested w/ beetles; Finding replacements would be difficult, however, in the 1300s New College had planted groves of oak trees w/ the sole purpose to replace the beams when they became full of beetles
jNlVM TIL Guy Fawkes, a man famous for his part in the gunpowder plot to assassinate King James I of England, was ranked 30th in a BBC list of the 100 greatest Britons of all time. King James I did not make the list.
X0Z5k TIL the Tuberous Bush Cricket has the largest testicles to body mass ratio in the animal kingdom. To put this into perspective, the weight average for men in the US is roughly 197.6 pounds. 14% of that would be almost 27 pounds.
XEyBR TIL that in 1983, after a mid-air collision, an F-15 pilot continued flying and made a successful emergency landing, only to find out after he landed that he lost the entire right wing in the collision.