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TIL the Church of Scientology tried to infiltrate and steal classified files on Scientology from governments all over the world

Read more cs.cmu.edu

via reddit.com

5V9Pk TIL about the Swiss Guard's Last Stand. In 1527 Over 20k troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, rebelled after not being paid for months, marched on Rome and sacked the city, killing thousands. Fearing for his life, Pope Clement VII fled and 142 Swiss Guard held off the mob, none survived.
Llyv TIL Karl Urban’s character in the 2012 film “Dredd” was legally required to never remove his helmet and to keep his face obscured. Urban had no issue with this as “if you’d grown up reading Dredd, you’d never really consider taking the helmet off.”
nWyBP TIL a worse-than-expected storm wreaked havoc on the 303 yachts in the 1979 Fastnet Race. There were 194 retirements, 75 capsized boats, 24 boats abandoned (5 of which believed to be sunk), and the deaths of 15 sailors. Of the 303 yachts that started the race, only 86 finished.
v1K7R TIL that the Gnarls Barkley song "Crazy" developed out of a conversation between Danger Mouse and CeeLo Green talking about ways in which they could make people think we were crazy. CeeLo took the conversation, turned it into "Crazy" and recorded it in one take
KOnxJ TIL that king George I once organized a concert on the river Thames. He hired G. F. Handel and the result was 'water music', a collection of 3 suites. It was played by 50 performers sailing from Whitehall to Chelsea on a barge. The king liked the composition so much that he asked for 3 encores.