21.
TIL about Project 100k, where LBJ and Sec of Def Robert MacNamara decided to lower the mental and medical standards to recruit more soldiers to fight in Vietnam. These soldiers died at ~3x the normal rate.
22.
TIL that in 1670, against a judge’s instructions, a jury refused to find two men guilty. The judge held the jury in contempt; locked them up overnight without food, water or heat; and fined them. On appeal, the Chief Justice ruled that a jury could not be punished for returning the wrong verdict.
23.
TIL In 1941, almost 10% of all recruits for the US military were rejected because they did not have 6 opposing teeth on their upper and lower jaws. US dental health was so poor before WWII that it was the leading cause of rejection.
24.
TIL that in Norse mythology, Loki got pregnant by a horse, he would then later give birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipner which would become Odin’s horse
25.
TIL the Great cheese riot of 1766 was a reaction to inflated cheese prices. The mayor tried to restore order but was knocked down by a cheese. The military were called & shots were fired, killing one man. He’d been guarding his cheeses
26.
TIL Leonardo Da Vinci saved 13,000+ pages of notes and drawings on anatomy, physiology, engineering, mechanics, geometry, mathematics, bird flight, flying machines, botany, proportions, topology, weaponry, musical instruments, art, and more, all in mirrored shorthand written from right to left.
27.
TIL Keanu Reeves was offered the lead role in The Matrix after 5 leading actors in 1990s turned it down.
28.
TIL in order to rescue the kids out of the flooded Thailand cave in 2018, rescuers drugged the kids unconscious then cave dove the the unconscious kids over 1km underwater
29.
TIL Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein, was named Chairmain of the Iraqi Olympic Committee in 1984. Athletes who disappointed him were subject to torture and imprisonment
30.
TIL English words of Hindi or Urdu origin include bandana, bangle, bungalow, cheetah, cushy, dinghy, juggernaut, jungle, khaki, loot, punch (the drink), pundit, pyjamas, shampoo, thug, and typhoon
