› added 7 months ago

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TIL 85,200 Swiss women lost from 1848-1952 their citizenship when marrying foreigners due to the "marriage rule". If they married Jews denationalized by Nazi Germany, they became stateless and some died in gas chambers. A 1952 revision allowed retention or reinstatement of citizenship.

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jNROa TIL in 1988, a retired police officer found Cyril Smith, British MP with 144 accusations of child molestation and abuse, in a home with a sex offender and two drunk teenage boys. The officer was threatened to be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act by the UK government. Nothing happened.
V84m TIL A simple laser procedure can turn brown eyes blue
rN4wy TIL the Knight Rider theme song is based on the 1876 ballet "Sylvia" by Léo Delibes
LQ07Q TIL that Studebaker made the world's "largest living advertisement" in 1938 by planting 8k pine trees to spell "STUDEBAKER" if viewed from the sky. Even though Studebaker has been gone for over 50 years, their pine tree logo lives on and is in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
R7ywQ TIL: Water striders (pond skaters) are not just found in freshwater, but are the only insects that have successfully adapted to the open ocean. Increased floating plastics, has given ocean going pond skaters more nesting surface which could cause a disruption to the oceanic food chain.