› added 11 years ago

78

TIL that Sept 11th has a different meaning in Chile. That was the date in 1973 that the CIA backed the overthrow of a democratic government by Augusto Pinocet who would go on to kill over 3000 and torture up to 30,000 Chileans.

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69Xvm TIL landlords in Glasgow, Scotland tried to increase rent by 25% on women whose husbands were fighting in World War 1. The women organised a rent strike and stopped bailiffs entering their buildings by throwing flour bombs at them and pulling down their trousers.
jN7yv TIL the term "space" (to represent a place beyond the earth) was coined by a female poet in the 1800s - Lady Emmelunw Stuart-Wooley in her poem "The Lady of Moscow."
x6AWb TIL that ABBA, one of the most successful bands of all time, found fame by winning an international song competition, "Eurovision", in 1974.
78OeM TIL that former Harvard President Lawrence Summers resigned in large part due to a speech in which he said the reason for underrepresentation of women in the hard sciences was partly due to genetics
1Nl7 TIL in 1862 Japan four British merchants met a procession of a feudal lord’s regent while traveling. The merchants did not dismount and show respect, and the samurai cut them down. Britain’s claims for compensation were unanswered, which led to naval bombardment of Kagoshima city by the Royal Navy.