› added 7 years ago

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TIL that in 2015, the authorities of the Westfjords region of Iceland have repealed a 400-year-old law that dictated that any Basque people found in the region could be legally killed on the spot

Read more telegraph.co.uk

via ift.tt

wLW8E TIL John Gavin, who played Samuel Loomis in the 1960 film "Psycho", was unable to reprise his role in "Psycho II" after being appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico on June 5, 1981, by President Ronald Reagan. Thus, his character was made a widow of Lila Loomis (played by Vera Miles) in the sequel.
R7mWa TIL That the phrase "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" originates because in medieval ages, people shared scarce bathwater and by the time the baby was bathed, the water was so murky that the baby was in danger of being thrown out unseen
JG1j TIL that in 1994 and 1995 43 adults were charged with 29,726 counts of child abuse. Accused of being part of a group involved in ritualistic child abuse, 18 went to prison for what were later determined to be false testimony based on recovered memories. It’s called the Wenatchee Witch Hunt.
xYZ1 TIL: During WW2, there was an Edinburgh derby (in soccer/football) that was so foggy, neither the commentator or the spectators knew what was going on. The commentator couldn’t mention the fog, incase Germans were listening. He described a fake game but under the fog it ended 6-5.
XxgE TIL Saab in 1992 made a prototype vehicle dubbed “Prometheus” that had no steering wheel. Instead, to steer it, the driver had an aircraft like joystick. It greatly increased safety, space and aesthetics. The production model would have had two Joysticks, one for each arm / hand.