› added 9 years ago

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TIL that during WWII American soldiers in the Pacific theatre would use the word ‘lollapalooza’ to challenge unidentified persons, on the premise that Japanese people often pronounce the letter L as R

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m1meE TIL before 1950 almost 1 in 3 homes in the United States had bedbug infestations.
lon95 TIL a Soviet Special Forces Commander who ordered the execution of all Afghan witnesses to a coup was killed because he was wearing an Afghan uniform.
W76oL TIL: S.Korea government sanctioned labour camp for children and more than 500 people died in the 1980s
Me1BK TIL Marie Antoinette (1793) accidentally stepped on her executioner's shoe. Her last words were "Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l’ai pas fait exprès" (Pardon me, sir, I did not do it on purpose). Marie Tussaud used her head to create a death mask.
nevMb TIL much of St Peter's Basilica was funded by selling indulgences, meaning letters excusing you from sin. Rich people sometimes even bought these in advance, for sins they planned on committing.