› added 7 years ago

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TIL of Puputan, a Balinese mass-suicide ritual. In 1906, about 1000 Balinese people marched out and killed themselves ritualistically to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the Dutch. After the ritual concluded, the Dutch stripped the corpses of their valuables and sacked the ruins of the palace.

4XwZJ TIL the actor playing Hedorah the Smog Monster in a 1971 Godzilla film came down with appendicitis. Doctors were forced to perform surgery while he was still wearing the monster suit due to the length of time it took to take off. During the operation he learned that painkillers had no effect on him.
kJ7dm TIL some frogs in South/Central America have the rare ability to become nearly transparent when they're sleeping but look opaque reddish-brown when hopping around. Using light and ultrasound imaging technology they found the frogs concentrate their blood in their liver, draining them of most color.
OPP7 TIL Rolling Stone gave many artists bad reviews, then changed to good reviews after they became famous. Examples include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, The Beach Boys, Nirvana, Weezer, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Outkast and also Queen.
OAB7 TIL that in 1962 Soviet Senior Officer Vasili Arkhipov convinced his captain not to launch a nuclear torpedo on the US after the submarine they were on was rocked by US depth charges, therefore single handedly stopping nuclear war.
Pwwg TIL that during the Chelsea-Charlton match of 1937 on boxing day, there was thick fog and the match had to be stopped. The Charlton keeper stayed on the pitch for 15 more minutes without knowing, until a policeman found and informed him.