› added 4 years ago

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TIL Nelson Mandela would play songs over the speakers while incarcerated to sustain hope among prisoners. Among them was ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton - it was the hope behind the plea to Jolene that someone might hear their desperate pleas for freedom.

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KYD69 TIL: Pigeon racing is not only a competitive sport for decades, but also experienced several doping scandals. The pigeons were given a drugs that relieved pain, reduced fever, or produce effects similar to human athletes and caffeine. The sport planned to add more anti doping rules in 2014.
0AnM TIL that theoretically if astronauts traveled in a spaceship at a constant 1g of acceleration they could travel the entire universe in their own lifetime, while billions of years would pass by on earth.
KYr4 TIL That a team of escaped Polish pilots, Squadron 303, claimed the highest number of kills of any Allied Squadron in WWII: they were only 5% of the active pilots in the Battle of Britain but were responsible for 12% of total victories.
b6Ewa TIL Girls of the Kayan tribe start wearing neck rings at around 5 years old. Over the years, the coil is replaced by a longer one and more turns are added. The rings can stretch their necks to a length of about 15 inches (38 cm).
pYNBZ TIL that when a man named Reginald Francis Cheese enlisted in the British army during World War I, he used the surname "Cleese" because he found his real surname embarrassing. He officially changed his surname to Cleese in 1923, and went on to become the father of the famous comedian John Cleese.