› added 12 years ago

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TIL that pirates wore gold and silver earrings for superstitious reasons like not drowning or getting seasick, and curing bad eyesight. Also, the earrings’ worth covered the cost of a proper burial. They were also helpful to dangle pieces of wax from to use as ear plugs near cannons.

X0ENE TIL l South Yorkshire town of Doncaster is technically part of Scotland. Its Scottish history dates way back to the 12th century (1136, to be specific), when the town was signed over to King David I in the Treaty of Durham, and it was never officially given back.
WlOA TIL in order to save tortoises on the Galapagos islands, sharpshooters from New Zealand were flown in to kill 100,000 goats from helicopters
M7ydA TIL that famed tennis player Andre Agassi's famous hairstyle was a wig and the night before Agassi was set to play the final of the 1999 French Open his wig fell apart and the makeshift wig that he created worried him so much during play that it cost him the match.
7roDP TIL- Private Baker and his comrades came under attack by a Japanese force. Baker was hit early. His comrades left him propped against a tree and gave him a pistol, which had eight bullets, American forces retook the position, they found the pistol, and eight dead Japanese soldiers around Baker.
awEPZ TIL: In the United States, you can sell dietary supplements with no safety or efficacy testing at all if you don't "make specific medical claims" or use a known poison as an active ingredient. The FDA can only remove a product from market after "substantial" deaths or injury occur.