› added 12 years ago

91

TIL that during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, the African American hostages were released almost immediately as Iran was “sympathetic to oppressed minorities”.

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NGEb TIL “The Hum” is a low frequency sound heard by about 10% of the population at night and on overcast days
b6ea7 TIL there is a hoax/conspiracy that makes people install electrolysers on their car engine in the belief they can create infinite energy out of nowhere.
oRdrr TIL that of the 5 ships and 270 men who started the Magellan Expedition, only 1 ship and 18 men completed the circumnavigation of the Earth together. (17 others survived Portuguese capture and hard labor and returned later.)
XG7P TIL President Reagan was stalked by a man who called himself “Catman,” and who not only sent letters and “close-up photographs of his intended victims,” but also “lots of photos of cats.”
wLR8W TIL learned about "Ether Frolics" A social gathering in the early 19th Century where partygoers would congregate to sniff ether. It was cheaper than alcohol and easier to come by than nitrous oxide, another favorite.