› added 5 years ago

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TIL that when practicing for the D-Day landings in "Exercise Tiger" at least 749 Americans were killed by friendly fire and a "wolf pack" of 6 German E-boats who stumbled on the LST ships in the dark. D-Day was nearly called off because 10 officers who knew the exact plans went missing.

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N7PnP TIL that in 1989, President Bush sent troops to Panama to capture the dictator Manuel Noriega. But because he has fled to The Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, the troops couldn't get in. So they surrounded the place, and blasted Rock n' Roll music for days until he gave up.
Vpk8 TIL of a Mets/Yankees minor league game where a switch-handed pitcher AND batter faced off, and the two kept on switching hands so much, it was minutes before a pitch was thrown.
9OGQ TIL that Thomas Jefferson wanted the constitution to be changed ever 19 years because he didn’t want people to be “ enslaved to the prior generation”
mx5ev TIL there is a copy of the Qur'an written in Saddam Hussein's blood which he had commissioned for his 60th birthday. Over the course of 2 years he provided up to 57 pints of his blood to complete the 336,000+ words that make up the text
g719 TIL actress Tallulah Bankhead was infamous for not wearing underwear. During the filming of Lifeboat, the crew complained about her flashing them when she had to climb a ladder. Director Alfred Hitchcock reportedly quipped that he didn’t know if it was a matter for wardrobe or hairdressing.