› added 8 years ago

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TIL there was Chinese general who defended a town against 150,000 soldiers with only a lute and his reputation for being clever. He opened the gates and sat on the town wall playing the lute. The opposing general thought it was a trap and retreated.

W7XOL TIL about the "Green Card Lottery" the first commercial computer spam campaign (Via Usenet) which was started by the now disbarred layer Laurence Canter and his wife in 1994.
Ypa9v TIL that the Vikings would hunt narwhals for their “horns” (which are actually teeth) and sell them to clueless European traders as “unicorn horns,” which were thought to have magical properties.
LQxgd TIL since 2000 the Federation of Québec Maple Syrup Producers maintained an "International Strategic Reserve" of maple syrup of more than 45 million kilograms across multiple warehouses in rural Québec towns. A barrel of maple syrup can be worth around 18 times the value of a barrel of US crude oil
9wpwm TIL that Sesame Street was designed to build up the self-worth of black children through the presentation of positive black images. It purposefully presented an integrated, harmonious community to challenge the marginalization of African-Americans routinely seen on elsewhere in society
VBlEZ TIL Lucuis Quinctius Cincinnatus was voted dictator during a desperate war with the Aequi around 458 BC. He assumed complete control of the state, achieved victory in 16 days, relinquished his powers and returned to his farm. He may have been appointed dictator again to suppress an "uprising of the