› added 11 years ago

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TIL that France’s King Louis XIV was offered biological weapons by an Italian chemist. He not only refused, but also paid the chemist an annual salary to never reveal the technology to anyone else

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YBAW TIL that Scientology uses the same strategy as Chinese spies to deflect criticism
WKj9 TIL in an effort to one-up the Soviets during the late 1950s, the United States planned to hit the moon with a nuclear warhead-tipped ICBM. In the Air Force’s infinite wisdom, however, the plan was scrapped because they felt the public would respond unfavorably to nuking the moon.
7Qlx TIL a trans woman wasn’t allowed to change her gender marker to female at the DMV, so she went outside and took off her shirt. She was arrested, despite her license saying “Male”
wLO4o TIL that a "paracosm" is a detailed imaginary world that many people have, often developed during childhood and can continue for a long period of time, e.g. into adulthood. The paracosm may incorporate real-world or imaginary characters and conventions.
d8ePZ TIL the State of Washington once forced Comcast to refund nearly 50,000 customers for charging them a $5/month "service protection plan" that actually did nothing.