› added 7 years ago

280

TIL that the extra years on sentencing beyond death (e.g. “life without parole plus 1,000 years”) is both a symbolic way for a judge to condemn someone as truly guilty and console a victim, as well as a practical way to make it more difficult for someone to get out prison

Read more bbc.com

via ift.tt

vPGLK TIL That Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's eldest son, was close to or directly at all three presidential assassinations that happened during his life time. He swore off presidential events as a result fearing his presence meant a president would die.
p81oQ TIL of the Greek genocide instigated by the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish National Movement in Anatolia (1914-1922) resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Greeks.
N7DK8 TIL that Daylight Savings Time has been shown to increase the rate of heart attacks (AMI’s) by 24% the morning of the time change. Scientists think this is due to the change in our sleep cycle. Conversely, when the time switches back, the study showed a 21% decrease in AMI’s that day.
R71Xj TIL that "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt is actually about a junkie stalking a woman in a subway. [Video - 0:57]
9Yb0B TIL about Margarethe Cammermeyer, the highest ranking officer in the military to be discharged for homosexuality. She won a lawsuit and was subsequently one of the only openly gay people to serve during "don't ask, don't tell."