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Interesting





TIL that Egyptian builders such as those of the pyramids were usually not slaves, and frequently took sick days from work. Popular excuses included “stung by scorpion”, “bleeding wife”, “trouble with eye”, and even “brewing beer”.



In September 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov received a message that 5 nuclear missiles had been launched by the U.S. and were heading to Moscow. He didn't launch a retaliatory strike, believing correctly that it was a false alarm.
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In September 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov received a message that 5 nuclear missiles had been launched by the U.S. and were heading to Moscow. He didn't launch a retaliatory strike, believing correctly that it was a false alarm.
r/interestingasfuck - In September 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov received a message that 5 nuclear missiles had been launched by the U.S. and were heading to Moscow. He didn't launch a retaliatory strike, believing correctly that it was a false alarm.


TIL Partway through the hour-long trial of former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena, their lawyers abandoned their defense and sided with the prosecutors. Afterwards, their execution by firing squad happened so quickly that the TV crew was unable to film the execution in full.



TIL that US troops using flash card apps accidentally revealed classified information about nuclear weapons in Europe, such as vault locations, surveillance camera positions, signs/countersigns, and duress words.




TIL that telegraph operators fell in love, got married, and even had sexual encounters over the telegraph, much in the same way people do today through messaging and social networks

TIL that in 1910 English pranksters disguised as Ethiopian diplomats fooled the Royal Navy into giving them a tour of HMS Dreadnought. They spoke a gibberish of mostly Greek and Latin and would shout "Bunga bunga!" to express astonishment. One of them was author Virginia Woolf.


TIL that a man died in the lighthouse he built. Henry Winstanley was so confident in the lighthouse's design that he wished to be inside during "the greatest storm there ever was". The lighthouse was completely destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703, killing Winstanley.




TIL that a high school has its own train station. Only four trains a day stop at Caltrain's College Park station in San Jose, California, near Bellarmine Prep school. Caltrain would like to close the station, but students and parents say that it is very busy during the stops.

TIL that female cicadas have metal ovipositors so that they can drill the tree bark to lay eggs. The only animal with an organ that is mostly made out of transition metals.
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You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? Submit interesting and specific facts about something that you just found out here.


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