› added 8 years ago

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TIL that in South Korea, men who win Olympic medals do not have to participate in the two year long mandatory military service.

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via reddit.com

rRxrx TIL of Keith Moon, drummer for The Who and notorious for his destructive behavior. While headed to the airport with his band, he asked to be taken back to the hotel saying “Oh my God, I forgot something”. After launching the tv out the hotel room window, he came back saying “Phew, I nearly forgot!”
M9mB TIL: The decision of 18 y/o King Michael I of Romania to carry out a coup against the Nazi ally & prime minister, Ion Antonescu, in 1944 is thought to have ended WWII early by as much as 6 months.
Vjvp TIL that ZZ Top guitarists Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, were once offered $1 million by Gillette to cut off their facial hair. They said “The prospect of seeing oneself in the mirror clean-shaven is too close to a Vincent Price film…a prospect not to be contemplated, no matter the compensation.”
Wab4 TIL that the Wahgi people of Papua New Guinea paint their shields with images of the Phantom comic book character after American GIs shared their comic books with tribe members during World War II
5LV9 TIL the Manchineel tree is considered one of the most poisonous tree in the world. It causes painful blisters if you stand under it during rain, blinds you if the smoke from its burned wood touches your eyes, can poison water with its leaves and will cause death if you eat its fruits.