› added 11 years ago

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TIL an engineer in the 1930’s apparently created a “rainmaking machine”, made it rain in several places and then disappeared without a trace

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p87wZ TIL the last 2 Afghan Jews lived on opposite sides of Kabul's synagogue, both claimed ownership of the space, refused to leave fearing the other would sell it. The two fought so much over the synagogue's Torah (bible) scroll that, after each called Taliban on the other, the Taliban confiscated it.
9wbVB TIL the term "fragging" originated during the highly unpopular Vietnam War, when U.S. soldiers would kill a fellow soldier, usually a superior, using a fragmentation grenade to make it look accidental.
W7gbY TIL that the character Pai Mei wasn't created by Quentin Tarantino for the Kill Bill movies; he's a pre-existing figure in Chinese folklore, allegedly based on a real Shaolin elder from the 17th century.
BrOod TIL Carlos was dubbed "The Jackal" by The Guardian after one of its correspondents reportedly spotted Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel The Day of the Jackal near some of the fugitive's belongings
7rQBM TIL Yao Ming, famous for being one of the tallest player in the NBA, was born after the Chinese government "encouraged" the marriage of his parents; the country's tallest man and tallest female basketball player.