› added 1 year ago

57

TIL that in the 1980s musical "Chess", the American's fortunes change depending on which version is being played; in the West End version, he quits the match and loses his World Championship, while in the Broadway version, he discovers a tactical edge and gains it.

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KlZE TIL A Canadian genius that specialized in ballistics was designing a super cannon to cheaply shoot objects into orbit. Canada and the United States cancelled the joint project. While devastated that his dream would never be seen, he was approached by another financial backer: Saddam Hussein.
Y7xaG TIL Author Paek Nam-nyong is a household name in North Korea and his bestseller novel "Friend" became the first state-sanctioned novel available to English readers
neLlW TIL trader Andrew Myrick was found dead with grass stuffed in his mouth and buttocks after refusing to sell food to Dakota people.
lwG1 TIL that Japan had a monster-collecting card game in the Edo Period (1603-1868)
mx7Mx TIL about the extinct Antarctic wolf, which was the only land mammal native to the Falkland Islands and was so tame that "it was possible to lure the animal with a chunk of meat held in one hand, and kill it with a knife held in the other"