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TIL that in 1996 a group in England broke into an air base and used hammers to significantly damage warplanes, which were due to be sold to Indonesia. A jury found the group innocent because they felt the planes were likely to be used in the Indonesian military's genocide in East Timor

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ANVyd TIL that Albert Pierrepoint, a British executioner from 1931 to 1956, only did so on the side. His day job was running a pub, and it was well-known that he was also a hangman. In 1950, he hanged one of his regulars (whom he had nicknamed "Tish") for murder.
dwpZ TIL That a woman saved a little boys life giving him CPR after being hit in the chest with a baseball bat. 7 Years later that very same boy saved her from choking to death giving her the heimlich maneuver.
0n1y TIL of the Russian “Firehose of Propaganda” Model: Overwhelm your enemy with lies from multiple sources, so people will see the lies first, thus winning the first impression. Multiple sources reinforce the same lies, all before real journalists can even find the facts.
KYOaa TIL Movies made in France can access a tax rebate (worth up to 40% of spend) if the movie passes a Cultural Test, which awards points if at least one main character is "of a nationality that cannot be determined". More points for sets being "symbolic of France".
NgN TIL There was an American musician in the 1970s who sold very few records in the US, so he quit music and became a demolition worker; in 1998, he found out that his records had gone platinum in South Africa.