› added 6 years ago

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TIL about the "Battle of Hayes Pond", where in 1958, fed up with recent cross burnings on their grounds, over 500 armed members of the Lumbee Tribe surrounded a KKK rally and exchanged fire with them, destroying the only light source and forcing the Klan members to flee the area.

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5YR8R TIL Kaiser Wilhelm II had a series of birth defects, most notably a withered left arm. Treatments for his arm include: salt water sprays, cold compression, electric shocks, stretching, and putting the arm into a fresh animal carcass (Queen Victoria thought this was a bad idea).
LQQ69 TIL that a Cuban military pilot defected to the US in a MIG-23, and later piloted a Cessna BACK to Cuba to exfiltrate his wife and children.
Jvlk TIL that in the 1950’s the CIA began Operation Mockingbird. The operation was to influence and manipulate the media towards their political and social views. They recruited thousands of American journalists and funded student organizations and magazine fronts to channel their views through.
8a7bG TIL that in 2004, a comedian went on television posing as a Dow Chemical executive, taking responsibility for the Bhopal chemical disaster, and promising $12 billion in compensation to victims. Dow immediately denied the promise and apology, but their stock value dropped by $2 billion in 23 minutes.
9w81m TIL that the Eurotunnel between England and France has trains that are basically roads on wheels, allowing passengers to walk in between cars and busses in a fully enclosed space.