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TIL that in ‘43, SS officer Peiper refused to provide a written guarantee of safety for the village of Boves in exchange for the return of two captured German soldiers, saying “The word of a German is worth more than all the writings of Italians.” After their release, he torched the town, killing 24

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a8QKM TIL that in 1572, Tycho Brahe spotted a "new star" that briefly outshone Venus and was seen in daylight. This supernova was exploding around 9,000 light-years away, 300 million times brighter than the Sun, and visible naked-eye for 16 months. It shattered medieval ideas that the stars never change.
O65Y TIL U.S. Internet Access is Slow, Costly, and Unfair because a few powerful media conglomerates put profit ahead of the public interest
R7QE4 TIL that four high-school students in the ‘70s are the reason we no longer have pay toilets in America. They created an organization called CEPTIA, and were able to successfully lobby against the issue. 8 years later, pay toilets were all but nonexistent throughout the US.
w6BW TIL Arkham Asylum was named after Arkham, Massachusetts, the fictional town central to many H.P. Lovecraft stories.
rNKyW TIL Brian Eno created Ambient music while recovering from an accident. A record was playing too quietly and he was unable to leave his bed to increase the volume. Only just being able to hear the music over the outside rain gave him the idea for music that didn't impose itself on someone's space.