› added 5 years ago

100

TIL that in 1988, to demonstrate that channeling was a bogus practice, magician James Randi recruited José Alvarez, who pretended to channel a 2,000 year old spirit named Carlos, traveling the world and living like a celebrity. Alvarez continued the charade for years after 60 Minutes exposed them.

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rRdxx TIL that Alexander Hamilton was involved in at least TEN duels with Ten other people whom he either was called out by or he called out, before his Duel with Aaron Burr. Each of the previous duels the pistols had failed to fire. One of these was James Monroe, founding father and Potus #5
4kaY5 TIL the Scorpions made a song in Japanese. The vocalist sung the first stanza and then gave up.
neNnP TIL Saburō Sakai, a Japanese WWII fighter ace, was shot through his goggle by a turret gunner. The 7.62 mm bullet passed through his brain, blinding one eye and paralyzing one side of his body. Despite this, he landed his plane and returned to battle a year later.
exY4 TIL “Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell received a dog when he got home to aide in his recovery. in 2009 4 men shot the dog, and Luttrell chased the men in his truck through four counties with 2 pistols until the cops showed up.
Bg7de TIL that British members of parliament are not allowed to resign their seats. To get around this, they're appointed to one of two "office[s] of profit under the Crown". Since MPs aren't allowed to hold those positions, this automatically disqualifies them from sitting in parliament.