› added 4 years ago

73

TIL that Tom Lee, a river worker, saved 32 passengers from a sinking M.E. Norman steamboat on May 8, 1925. Tom Lee Park in Memphis is named after him.

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6Endl TIL that prior to the development of modern guns, soldiers needed to use their teeth to open cartridges, so militaries introduced requirements about the minimum number of the teeth of their soldiers. In some cases soldiers would pull or damage their teeth in order to avoid military conscription.
Y7J9v TIL the top 10% of American adults - 24 million of them - consume an average of 74 drinks per week, or a little more than 10 drinks per day.
pKGe TIL an Army helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War named Hugh Thompson prevented hundreds of civilians at My Lai from being murdered by confronting fellow soldiers and ferrying civilians to safety by helicopter.
b97KE TIL Since 1973, more than 155 people have been released from death row thanks to evidence of their innocence.
xxZb TIL that Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols auditioned for the band by singing along to an Alex Cooper record. Guitarist Steve Jones later said that “Rotten looked the part with his green hair, but he couldn’t sing. Then again, we couldn’t play, so it was okay.”