› added 4 years ago

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TIL that during WWI (and briefly WWII) the British would shame men into joining the military by recruiting young women to call them cowards on the streets of their hometowns. These women would also pin a white feather on them to symbolize their cowardice.

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ZDxR TIL one species of firefly mimics the mating flashes of other fireflies to attract, kill, and eat them.
kKL1 TIL Because the number 8 is considered very lucky in Chinese culture, a Chinese man spent the equivalent of $145,000 to secure a license plate reading ‘88888’ in the hope of increasing his luck. On his first day with the plate, he was pulled over 8 times by cops who thought the plate was a fake.
M4j0 TIL Dying is illegal in Longyearbyen, Norway because the town’s small graveyard stopped accepting bodies after discovering the permafrost prevented the bodies from decomposing.
x6pR0 TIL in 2021 a woman who ran out of her regular hair spray used Gorilla Glue Spray instead, believing it to also be hair spray. This resulted in her hair becoming stuck to her scalp. Eventually, a plastic surgeon performed a 4-hour long surgical procedure on her for free to remove the adhesive.
dDXk9 TIL about The “Victory Speed”. Beginning in May of 1942 and ending in August of 1945, a nationwide speed limit of 35 miles per hour was instated. The “Victory Speed” limit was instated in order to reduce gasoline and rubber consumption.