Post * dLwr — Curious Curator

› added 9 years ago

88

TIL that during WWII, the British secret services created a special edition of Monopoly for prisoners of war held by the Nazis. The games were distributed by fake charity groups created by the secret services and contained maps, compasses, real money, and other objects useful for escaping.

Read more

XEx8r TIL that the 1936 film 'Circus' - Stalin's favourite and the most successful of all time within the Soviet Union - was about an American woman with a Mixed Race son, who finds acceptance in the USSR. The movie's climax had the boy being held and sung to lovingly by various Soviet ethnic groups.

wBoE TIL that Ethiopia has 13 months to a year, and is still living in 2005

OojQa TIL that Julius Caesar likely had epilepsy, with four documented seizures: 1) in the Senate while being offered the Emperor’s Crown, 2) while listening to an oration by Cicero, and in military campaigns in 3) North Africa and 4) Corduba, Spain. Caesar won both battles despite his seizures.

9YeOr TIL that during the Revolution, British Capt. Patrick Ferguson refused an opportunity to shoot a passing American officer in the back. Historians say there's a very good chance that the officer was George Washington. Ferguson was later killed at the battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina.

xdj5 TIL in 1987 Steven Spielberg made a deal with Universal Studios Florida to licence his films for rides in return for 2% of the gross revenues in perpetuity (including tickets & concession sales). The annual payout exceeds $50M & will keep growing unless he agrees to a multi-billion dollar buyout.