› added 11 years ago

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TIL that 19 Baboons from Paris Zoo sent to a national park in England were unable to understand English commands but were fully cognitive of French words, forcing their English keepers to learn French.

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via reddit.com

pBYQ TIL that in 1939 US and Canada refused to accept 937 Jews who were the last to escape Nazi Germany and despite desperate attempts of (non Jewish) german captain to secure safety for his passengers they were forced to return to Europe. Many of them later died in concentration camps.
97bG TIL- Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson quietly adopted a former child soldier from Rwanda who now works as a human rights lawyer.
VMBnG TIL in the United States it is illegal for the government to have a gun database that ties a weapon directly to an owner. The Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986 banned the government from ever instituting such a system. A national registry database can't be implemented.
nWWQW TIL that there is a random runway in the middle of the Everglades that is only used for training. It was originally intended to be the first runway of a new airport for Miami, intended to be the largest airport in the world, but the project was canceled due to environmental concerns.
a8xMA TIL that smacking a heart patient in the chest with your fist is a legitimate technique called a Precordial thump.