› added 9 years ago

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TIL that one of the assassins who attempted to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand threw a grenade but missed the Archduke’s car. He swallowed cyanide and jumped in the River Miljacka, the cyanide was old and did not work, and the river was only 10cm deep. He was captured seconds later.

jNDJj TIL of the Falcon Sex Hat, a hat that allows a falcon to have sex with a breeders head to collect the semen.
VBnpD TIL the biohazard symbol didn't symbolize or refer to anything originally. It's simply a shape that was picked as being symmetrical, hard to mistake, and easy to remember
BrnkL TIL that in Albanian there is a tradition of blood feuds called "Gjakmarra", that requires murder to preserve family honor. The feuds may continue for generations. Those who choose not to pay with their lives may live in shame and seclusion for the rest of their lives, imprisoned in their homes.
MeRwK TIL that Geoffrey de Charny, a French knight, veteran of the Hundred Years War, writer of Book of Chivalry, dedicated parts of his book to preventing psychological trauma from warfare, and cautioned his comrades that “when they would be secure from danger, they will be beset by great terrors”.
DQY8D TIL about the SS Île de France, the last civilian ship to leave France before the outbreak of WWII. It successfully transported 1,777 passengers fleeing from France to New York; while crossing the Atlantic, 16 other vessels were sunk by torpedoes, mines, or gunfire.