› added 11 years ago

71

TIL, prior to World War I, sharpshooter Annie Oakley was touring Europe. By his request, she knocked the ash from a cigarette being held by German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. When World War I broke out, she wrote to him and requested a second shot.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

M7gVW TIL that Christian Science runs the CSM. This may seem like a "well duh" revelation but Christian Science believes that all diseases are in the head (basically the medical version of flat eartherism) while the CSM is actually quite a reputable source and even won a few Pulitzer Prizes
DQamr TIL in the Battle of Kartarpur 1,800 Sikhs under Guru Hargobind fought an army of at least 52,000 Mughals who were led by an ex Sikh general, the governor of Peshwar, and governor of Jalandhar. The Sikh won and killed at least 50,000 Mughals.
d8E4d TIL that the reason pineapple often stings your mouth is because it contains flesh-eating enzymes that digest your mouth.
b6rGQ TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the offer of battle. Trial by combat was abolished the following year.
xVZnw TIL That of the 50 destroyers transferred to the UK and Canada in the 1940 "Destroyers for Bases" deal, 9 were later loaned to the Soviet Union. Of these 9 the USS Herndon (DD-198), commissioned as HMS Churchill (I-45) in 1940; and transferred to Russia as Dyatelnyi in 1944 was the only one sunk.