› added 10 months ago

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TIL in WW2 the British, with the help of a professional magician, tricked the Germans into thinking that a British double-agent had successfully sabotaged an airplane factory.

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Br5rb TIL that Roman Emperor Nero during gladiatorial fights looked at the arena through a concave emerald to eliminate the glare of the sun and his nearsightedness. Those may have been the first sunglasses in history.
DQeje TIL that before Julia Child became a world renowned chef, she was a research assistant for Secret Intelligence in WWII. In the precursor to the CIA, she helped develop a shark repellant for life vests and mines that is still used today.
NENb TIL a man built a restaurant in Northern Iraq called MaDonal’s after McDonald’s turned denied his request. The restaurant serves items such as “Big Macks,” and serves free food to U.S. forces, and thus has been threatened by suicide bombers, turning the man into a local celebrity.
7r9Eb TIL hay bales can spontaneously combust if their moisture content exceeds 22%
LQgA0 TIL of Captain Thomas Cochrane, who became captain of a post-ship a mere 7 years after his commission as a midshipman. He later was depicted in the naval fiction series of fame, Horatio Hornblower as a pivotal character.