› added 3 years ago

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TIL that Beethoven's 5th became known as the victory symphony because of the allied forces "V for victory" slogan during WW2. After noticing that the first four notes of the symphony sound like the morse code for the letter V, the BBC played that motif on the timpani before every wartime broadcast.

Ooxp4 TIL stunt performer Bobby Leach was the second person to go over Niagra Falls in a barrel. He was rescued three times from attempts to swim the Niagra Whirlpool Rapids. He died of a broken leg after slipping on an orange peel.
4kRbJ TIL Yakuza members have a ceremony called Sakazuki where they drink sake to pledge their loyalty. They perform a ritualistic penance called Yubitsume where they cut their pinky finger which is integral when it comes to holding katana
6N4w TIL the last game for the Sega Genesis was released in 2010 and proved so popular it sold out before release, forcing the developers to produce a second run.
neeQr TIL the number of stars on the EU flag don't actually represent anything. They picked 12 stars because it was the least politically offensive number. When it was suggested each member have a star, West Germany protested because of a conflict with recognizing Saarland (a recognized EU member).
YpPbd TIL During a 1989 Christmas television broadcast, Santa Claus encouraged all children to hold the phone to the TV, tricking them into dialing a 1-900 number that automatically charged several dollars to their parents' phone bill.