› added 4 years ago

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TIL "In the Doldrums" refers to a place 5 degrees either side of the equator, where the lack of wind caused sailors to get stuck

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ADKmo TIL of an event called the Italian Hall Disaster, 73 people were trampled to death in a stampede because someone falsely yelled "FIRE!" in a crowded hall in Michigan.
J16YQ TIL the first Super Bowl halftime show featured jetpacks flying around the stadium, but were originally developed for military use by Bell Aerosystems and funded by the US Army.
OGgXe TIL: The Swingjugend was a German counter culture group of teenagers who admired the American way of life and thought the Hitler's Youth was uncool compared to the swing scene. They called their opposition the "Homo Youth" and too chaste (virgins). Their leaders were sent to the camps.
VMjRm TIL about the Salt Witch of the Nebraska Plains. Indians maintained that a salt column was under the custody of the Salt Witch, and when they went there to gather salt they would beat the ground with clubs, believing that each blow fell upon her person and kept her from working other evil.
lgYA TIL because Brazil couldn’t afford to send its athletes to the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. they loaded their ship with coffee and sold it along the way