› added 11 years ago

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TIL that two students were arrested in 1972 for a plan to poison Chicago’s water supply with typhoid, anthrax, and various other pathogens. Released on bond, they hijacked a plane and forced it to go to Cuba; one died in prison and the other eventually made it home, getting five years of probation.

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R4j4 TIL when going to battle Rajputs would fashion false trunks for their horses, making them appear to be baby elephants which the enemy’s elephants instinctively would not attack.
nvX7 TIL that C. S. Lewis married a woman to remedy a deportation, honored his commitment when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, then fell in love with and re-married her while she was in the hospital. They lived as a married couple for three years before she passed away.
xVVnw TIL that Chik-Fil-A uses peanut oil to cook their food as a healthy alternative to regular oil, but those with peanut allergies can still eat their food.
MZe0 TIL that heavy fertilizer runoff in the Caribbean has led to a massive seaweed bloom that is piling up on beaches, in some areas, as much as 10 feet high.
m1Xao TIL, There was never an official flag for the country of Austria-Hungary. The flag we were used to, which shows the coat of arm of both country side by side, was a civil ensign used by merchant ships. The Habsburg flag represented Austrian region while the tricolor flag represented Hungarian region.