› added 11 years ago

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TIL the Allied operation to conceal the D-Day Invasion involved fake radio traffic, double agents, an Australian actor, and fake invasion plans for Calais, Norway, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans. It was so effective Hitler believed the real invasion hadn’t begun until seven weeks after D-Day.

N798P TIL of Clement Vallandigham, the congressman who accidentally shot himself in court while trying to demonstrate that the death of a man was accidental suicide, rather than murder. (He won the case, but also died.)
Egd9x TIL Dr Benjamin Rush gained acclaim in Philadelphia during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 by bravely visiting up to 100 patients a day, however due to his aggressive treatments including bloodletting it’s argued how much he helped, with some claiming his treatments killed more than they saved.
rgo4 TIL When Julius Caesar landed in Africa, he tripped and fell on his face. This would have been considered a fatal omen by his army, but instead, he shouted: “Africa, I have tight hold of you!”. The expedition proved a success.
GL97 TIL that in 1921, A mob of angry, heavily armed whites attacked the richest african american community in the U.S. at the time - (In Tulsa, OK) killing anywhere from 55- 300 blacks. Bi-planes were even used to drop incendiary bombs on buildings and fleeing families.
pQmA TIL that the superstition that the position of stars during your birth affects your life was refuted by the mathematician Pythagorus, by simply pointing out that twins don’t have the same future.