› added 6 years ago

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TIL Dan White, killer of Harvey Milk and the mayor of San Francisco, was charged with Voluntary Manslaughter rather than murder. The Defense had argued that White's mental state was impaired by depression, as proven by him recently eating sugary foods. This became known as the "Twinkie Defense."

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yVvXl TIL of the 1840 book, "Two Years Before the Mast". Written as a memoir documenting a sailing voyage from Boston to California, it not only influenced how sailors were seen and treated, as well as being a prospector's guide to California, but also influenced Herman Melville's writings as well.
PMBJ TIL that after Steve Irwin’s death, his fans began cutting the tails off stingrays in revenge attacks
X0kKk TIL Research have shown that people suffering from bipolar disorder tend to die, on average, nine years prematurely
nWkPb TIL all the chutes opened properly in the worst skydiving accident in US history. The 16 fatalities occurred because they were told to jump over water, instead of land, and drown.
gyeA TIL of the Iron Pillar of Delhi, an ancient, 23 ft solid pillar of near pure iron, that has resisted corrosion due to an unusual corrosion resistant layer. It also survived a direct canon ball strike in the 1700s from Muslim invaders.