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TIL that up until the end of 2013 russian soldiers used "foot wraps" instead of socks for 300 years. The rationale for using foot wraps was, that soldiers needed to be able to be fully dressed within 45 seconds.

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BeAL TIL a designer of the Titanic was on board when it sank. His original design included features such as a double hull, more water-tight compartments, and twice as many lifeboats but they were overruled. He spent his last moments trying to evacuate passengers, and his body was never recovered.
xLdw TIL that there is a hostage negotiation stragedy called “Bringing Home the Bacon” where negotiators fry bacon outside of the hostage area, making the hostage taker hungry from the smell and more willing to negotiate.
8aQe4 TIL Dick Tuck, a political consultant and prankster, pulled many pranks on Richard Nixon. One included renting a huge auditorium for Nixon to speak but inviting only a few guests. He also hired a pregnant black woman to walk around in a white neighborhood with a sign reading: “Nixon’s the one!”
WllB TIL that David Robinson grew so tall (7'0" by graduation) at the Naval Academy that he could not have served at sea, hurting any career in the US Navy. Instead of leaving the academy, as a compromise he was assigned to shore duty as an engineer before becoming a basketball superstar in the NBA.
a88Ob TIL the average meat eater consumes 7,000 animals in their lifetime. It breaks down to 11 cows, 27 pigs, 2,400 chickens, 80 turkeys, 30 sheep and 4,500 fish