› added 7 months ago

22

TIL that Switzerland suffered casualties in WW2, despite being neutral. The US air force accidentally bombed a number of Swiss towns, thinking they were in Germany, and several aerial incidents took place against both Allied and Axis planes due to violating Swiss airspace.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

JnpQ TIL that the word “dude” is actually a Scottish word, from ‘duddies’
pYaXZ TIL "Methinks the lady doth protest too much" is meant opposite to how it is used. It's not meant to doubt someone denying something, but rather someone proclaiming something. "Protest" (pruh-test) is a different word than (pro-test) that means to profess in favor. This is the origin of "Protestant"
b70Z TIL British censors banned under-18s from viewing the film Alien because it presented “a perverse view of the reproductive function”.
JY4b1 TIL famed fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's one regret was that he didn't invent blue jeans. He said, "They have expression, modesty, sex appeal and simplicity, all I hope for in my clothes."
XE0P6 TIL of Richard Turner, a true American badass. One of the best card magicians in the world, he also earned a karate black belt in the toughest karate school in the country, hunted sharks, climbed cliffs without securing and became a trapeze artist. Oh, and he lost his eyesight at the age of 9.