› added 9 years ago

1836

TIL the Cult Awareness Network listed Scientology as the #1 most dangerous cult. Over 50 Scientologists later filed civil suits against them, many using the same carbon copy claim via 1 law firm. After suing them into bankruptcy, the Church bought the name and started the New Cult Awareness Network.

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oR9W8 TIL of the Iffland-Ring, which is given to the “most significant and most worthy actor of the German-speaking theatre”. It is only passed along when the current holder dies, and the successor must be included in the current holder’s will.
JvwB TIL that Alexander Shulgin invented hundreds of designer drugs under the protection of the DEA, and that this relationship ended when he published recipes for making them
5Yomk TIL there was a baboon named Jack who, for nine years, helped a man with two peg legs switch tracks for trains and never once made a mistake.
KJ8E TIL there’s a series of 70-foot-long concrete arrows that bisects the country longitudinally all the way from SF to NYC, all designed to direct aerial traffic. They are from the pre-digital age and were installed by the Federal government in 1924, coupled with light signals to guide the way.
1ad7W TIL male dolphins form alliances and aggressively pursue females to mate. The females frequently "bolted", but only managed to escape 1/4 attempts. Male dolphins sometimes also commit infanticide so that their mothers will come back into estrus. Dolphins also occasionally practice incest.