› added 10 years ago

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TIL that the crusades were preceeded by the “muslim conquest” jihads against italy, including the muslim conquest of Sicily in 827 and the Arab raid against Rome (846). 200 years before the first crusade even happened.

EgyL7 TIL When Eli Wallach arrived in Madrid, Spain, all of the hotels were full. Clint Eastwood invited him to sleep over at a friend's house, and they shared the same bed. Wallach's wife Anne Jackson told him he could boast that he was the only man to sleep with Clint Eastwood.
OoZL4 TIL that in 2007, the hijacking of a Mauritanian flight was thwarted. Over the PA, the pilot instructed the passengers that he was about to make a bumpy landing, and they should attack the hijacker while he was off balance. He said this in French, which the gunman did not speak. The ploy succeeded.
wGr6 TIL that “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too” is the correct form of the proverb, because its order is what illustrates the impossibility. The Unabomber got the order correct in both his manifesto & private writing & this was 1 of the linguistic anachronisms that helped the FBI identify him
VMMEp TIL while on the run, Richard McNair, was staying at a motel and upon returning to his room he saw a SWAT team surrounding the building and decided to drive off, but later found out that the SWAT team was responding to a hostage situation, so he drove back and recorded the standoff with a camera.
GYLxJ TIL the guard of the tomb of the unknown solider does not wear any rank insignias so as to not outrank any of the "unknown" soldiers.