› added 13 years ago

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TIL there’s a bridge in Norway built from Leonardo De Vinci’s drawings 500 years earlier.

4kbgR TIL the British Columbia Lottery Corp. was ordered to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars to gamblers whose jackpots were withheld because they had won them after volunteering to ban themselves from casinos. The ruling only covered a 14 month period due to a change in law in 2010.
wLYLY TIL the Sama-Bajau, a sea-faring and nomadic people, have physical adaptations that enable them to see better and dive longer underwater. It was recently discovered that they have evolved bigger spleens that provides a larger reservoir of oxygenated red blood cells.
kJrL4 TIL "The Diary of Anne Frank" was pulled out of a rejection pile at Doubleday by editor Judith Jones. After reading it all day, she insisted to her boss that it must be published. He said, 'What? That book by that kid?'
E1r60 TIL The Portuguese military was born from the Templar Knights. King Dinis offered refuge when they were exterminated. Later, Queen Maria secularized them, and when the monarchy was abolished the grand master became the first president. Today, the order is awarded to valiant soldiers.
ONrg TIL in the 1936 Olympics, promoted by Hitler to prove that whites are superior, Peru beat Austria 4-2 on soccer, even though they had 3 other goals nullified. Later, the Olympic Comitee nullified the match and scheduled a rematch, to be taken under close grounds. Peru withdrew from the Olympics