› added 10 years ago

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TIL After murdering a man in a nightclub, Ricky Ray Rector agreed to turn himself in. Instead, he shot the negotiating officer in the back, killing him. He then attempted suicide but failed, effectively lobotomizing himself. He saved part of his last meal for “after the execution”.

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1ag5X TIL that during a visit to London, Boris Yeltsin nearly caused a diplomatic row by trying to hug the Queen. Afterwards, it was suggested that the Russian should in the future be advised that apart from handshakes, people do not 'handle' the Queen.
ARp7 TIL that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was elected with 100% of the votes. The ballot listed only him. Citizens are allowed to cross out his name and write in a new one, but they must step outside the election booth to do so, and write down the new name in front of election officials.
NDJ1 TIL: President George Washington was a lieutenant colonel in the British Army. He was unsuccessful in obtaining a royal commission but received a decree granting the British militia the same executive powers as commissioned officers. He is the only U.S President to have served the Crown.
Rnb8 TIL that when one of our fingers touches another, we perceive the sensation as weaker than when an external finger touches ours with the same force. Our brain filters the expected result of our own fingers touching in the evolutionary attempt to add importance and sensitivity to external events.
PgdZ TIL that the white suicide rate is almost as high as the black homicide rate. Also, the black suicide rate is far lower.