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TIL an American photographer lost and fatally stranded in Alsakan wilderness was ignored by a state trooper plane because he raised his fist which is the sign of all okay

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p8Bp4 TIL that when Shaka Zulu's mother died, he ordered that any woman who became pregnant in the year of mourning was to be executed, anyone not sufficiently sad was to be executed, and calves would have their mothers slaughtered so that they would know his pain.
VMAB4 TIL about the "Gävle Goat" - a straw goat erected anually in Gävle, Sweden. Since the start in 1966 it has been destroyed 36 of 51 times. In 2005 it was burnt down by two vandals dressed as Santa and the gingerbread man, by shooting a flaming arrow at the goat.
kOQVW TIL that starting with one red paper-clip, a man was able in 14 ensuing trades to get a house.
Vx6k TIL “Liver-eating Johnson” was an American mountain man rumored to have killed, scalped, and/or eaten the livers of up to 300 Crow Indians after a group of Crow braves murdered his wife. He ate the liver because it had significance for Crow beliefs about the afterlife
a8AM9 TIL Texas A&M University used to have an annual bonfire. In 1999, 12 students died when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed upon them during construction. The deaths led to the end of the tradition as the University faced a series of lawsuits and couldn't afford the expected $2 million per year insurance.