› added 6 years ago

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TIL in 1993, a 5 year old set his house on fire, killing his 2 year old sister. The mother blamed Beavis and Butt-head for making fire seem "cool". As a result, MTV removed all references of fire from their past and future episodes (not the 2011 run) and rescheduled it for 10:30pm instead of 7:00pm

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b9mbN TIL about Robert Cocking who tried to invent an improved parachute design. He was so convinced of his invention that he tested it himself, hanging below a balloon and releasing the parachute in the height of 5,000 ft. He was the first person who died in a parachute accident.
JKJQ TIL that a book claiming that sunscreen, not the sun, is the number one cause of skin cancer, and that AIDS is “one of the greatest hoaxes and deceptions ever perpetrated on the American public” was #1 on the New York Times best-seller list and sold 5 million copies in the U.S.
loKpG TIL that the hymen is not a membrane that is broken during the first vaginal penetration of a woman, but rather it is a fold that is stretched during penetration and may or may not tear and bleed.
GBlG TIL Albania’s economy was wrecked in the 90s when 2/3rds of the pop. was lured into govt-backed pyramid schemes which then failed. The chaos led to gangs seizing military arms and the govt. allowing citizens to arm themselves from armories. Gangs took over cities & navy ships as civil war broke out.
vgEK TIL That during World War II, The Russian Red Army fought 75%-80% of Nazi forces deployed during the war.