› added 6 years ago

130

TIL In the War of 1812, the British invaded Washington DC and burned down the White House and Capitol Building. The next day a tornado and storm lifted away two canons, killed troops, and damaged ships. The British retreated.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

a1oA TIL Winston Churchill smoked 8-10 cigars everyday. Legend has it that when meeting with foreign heads of state, Churchill would insert a straightened paper clip into his cigar to keep the ash from falling and unnerve the other man with the distractingly long ash.
kyRE TIL in 1958, the Chinese captured a US Sidewinder missile just four days after it was introduced into combat when it got stuck in a Chinese jet during a dogfight with Taiwan aircraft. It was reverse-engineered into the Soviet AA-2 Atoll (K-13) missile and used against US planes in Vietnam.
b6mP7 TIL a depressed man built a secret room within his bedroom containing a homemade guillotine with a timer, took sleeping pills, and set the timer to kill himself without his father knowing what he was doing for months. He was successful.
d84Ar TIL that while not enforceable, the U.S. has a flag code which advises Americans on proper flag usage. Examples include, No marking or changing the flag's colors, It must be lowered at night unless properly lit, a flag may not be used on a float without a pole, and no flag apparel of any sort.
OoMDe TIL that because of a treaty signed in 1795, the state of New York still gives 150 bushels of salt to the Onondaga people every spring