› added 11 years ago

83

TIL a German U-boat sank due to a toilet malfunction.

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XbpQ TIL of Otto Skorzeny, a Lt. Colonel in Hitler’s SS who was once called “the most dangerous man in Europe” by Allied intelligence. Years after the war, Skorzeny became an agent for the Israeli Mossad and assassinated an ex-Nazi rocket scientist.
5YnoD TIL that during its revolution France tried to de-Christianize time by introducing a new clock that consisted of days of 10 hours of a hundred minutes of a hundred seconds. The new clock system failed and was abolished in 1806.
rgMM TIL Wilt Chamberlain once challenged Muhammad Ali to a boxing match. Wilt was a foot taller,60 pounds heavier, and had a 92 inch reach. During a joint press conference, Ali answered every question with “Timberrrrr!” After breaking to meet with his lawyers, Wilt returned and called the fight off.
ajKo TIL that during the U.S. Civil War, former President John Tyler became a Confederate and was elected to serve in the Condeferate congress. He is the only U.S. President to not be mourned officially in Washington D.C. due to his being a Confederate supporter.
4XmNX TIL in 1781, 142 slaves were thrown overboard from a slave ship. The crew claimed they were low on drinking water and had killed the slaves to save it-this claim was disputed. The slaves had been insured. The case brought major attention to abolition.