› added 12 years ago

256

TIL Stalin liked to play practical jokes, so he created a rule which stated that no one could enter his bedchambers, so one night he pretended to scream in agony, and his guards rushed in to protect him, but they broke Stalin’s rule, and Stalin executed them shortly afterwards.

Read more weirdworm.com

via reddit.com

8aRML TIL of Nellie Bly, a 19th century female journalist who went around the world in 72 days, pretended to be insane in order to expose the deplorable conditions in mental asylums, patented two designs for steel cans and ran a million-dollar iron manufacturing business, all before the age of 40.
kBpg TIL during WWII, Pacific island natives thought the misplaced cargo parachute-drops delivered to them were from their dead ancestors. So, after the war, they imitated soldiers they had seen, reenacting marches with wooden rifles and built airplanes of straw, in hopes that the airdrops would return.
Qvkp TIL marijuana use is common among the North Korean workers. A freelance writer documents buying big bags of weed for £0.50.
MelP0 TIL about Mohamed Bishr, an Egyptian man who was repeatedly kidnapped by gangs who planned to use him as a Saddam Hussein lookalike in porn films. The gangs had planned to pass the films off as "found footage" and sell them to international media.
kljB TIL: Beastie Boys Mike D wore a chain with a 4-inch (10cm) VW emblem which inspired so many thefts that Volkswagen offered free replacements for all drivers affected and placed ads in papers saying “Don’t steal our medallions; send this ad in as a coupon, and we’ll send you your own VW medallion.”