› added 13 years ago

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TIL that a man with no prior criminal record is serving a 55 year prison sentence for trying to sell $350 worth of marijuana while wearing a gun on his body, mainly due to mandatory minimum sentences

QJYPk TIL A roman consul was told before a crucial battle with Carthage that the auguries suggested he shouldn't go to battle, since the chicken didn't eat that day. Wishing to do it any way, he proclaimed "lets see if they will drink", and had the sacred chickens drowned. He fought and lost the battle
oBVw7 TIL that in 2004 nearly one-third of the adult male population of the Pitcairn islands was convicted of child sex assault, even the mayor. His son, the current mayor is also a convicted sex offender. Another mayor who served in between them was convicted for possession of child pornography.
VMv4Q TIL that Henry Ford probably never said "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses" - but his tone-deafness to customers' needs in the 1920s, when GM was producing numerous models to Ford's single Model T, caused Ford's market share to drop from 70% to 15% in 6 years
9w7NQ TIL the US suicide rate has risen steadily over the past 18 years and in 2022 (14.3 per 100,000 people) it reached its highest point since 1941 (15 per 100,000).
XEogX TIL that the vocals for Hozier's Take Me to Church weren't recorded in the studio. He recorded a demo in his parents' attic and the record label found the vocals to be so powerful, they left them alone.