› added 4 months ago

47

TIL: Slaves were sometimes lottery prizes in the past. An example was when Bernard Moore, in quick need of cash, divided his estate into 124 prizes and sold 1840 lottery tickets. You could win a slave, 10 cows, a house, a forge, mill, or wagon. The slaves were the cheapest prizes.

Read more colonialwilliamsburg.org

via reddit.com

LQBY0 TIL that long after World War II ended, Teruo Nakamura of the Japanese imperial army was one of the last soldiers to finally surrender after holding out until 1974. 30 years after the war ended.
4Xk9o TIL that during apartheid, the South African Chemical & Biological weapons program differed in its aims from the programs of many countries in that a major focus of the South African program was to develop non-lethal agents to help suppress internal dissent.
d6kd TIL kung fu can refer to any skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial arts
rRxvW TIL about Sarah Forbes Bonetta. An admitted genius and royal of the Yoruba tribe's Oyo empire that was given to Queen Victoria in 1850 as a present after her parents were decapitated and her siblings sold in the Atlantic slave trade. She would be raised as the Queens Goddaughter.
5kLP TIL that despite early claims that fidget spinners could be used to help children with ADHD, there never was any scientific research to back this claim.