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TIL that during the Spanish Civil War the International Brigades took shelter in the University of Madrid, building barricades from library books. Nineteenth century German philosophy was supposedly the most effective at stopping bullets.

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e0eWJ TIL J. R.R Tolkien, Otto Frank (The father of Anne Frank), and Adolf Hitler where all present as foot soldiers at the battle of the Somme.
WkMbY TIL in 1962 two US scientists discovered Peru's highest mountain was in danger of collapsing. When this was made public, the government threatened the scientists and banned civilians from speaking of it. In 1970, during a major earthquake, it collapsed on the town of Yangoy killing 20,000.
G4Bg TIL that Disney uses bird deterrents to scare birds away from the Eiffel Tower in France, Epcot so they can keep the illusion that the tower is actually close to life size and not only 103 feet tall.
7rP8L TIL 676 human skulls was unearthed under the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City. These were the first evidence found that the Aztecs sacrificed women and children that they captured from other nations. As of 2017, the bottom of the pile of skulls still hasn't been reached by excavations.
woVg8 TIL during a preview of the Sistine Chapel paintings, one of the Pope's men criticized all the "disgraceful" nudity. So Michaelangelo painted the critic's likeness into the Last Judgement, wearing nothing but a snake that's biting his dick.