Johannes_P

Johannes_P t1_jeeir9k wrote

Reply to TIL in order to prevent certain legal instruments from operating in perpetuity, a Royal Lives Clause may be written into a contract which provides a definite but extended period of time usually tied to twenty-one years past the death of last living descendent of the current British monarch. by AudibleNod

To get around the rule against perpetuities (mandating no dispositions could go beyond 21 years after the death of persons living during enactment - IANAL, please), lawyers uses the lives of a defined set of persons. Already in the Deuteronomy, the lifespans of the High Priests were used to determine whether someone in a city of refuge (a TIL in its own right) could go back home. There's also tontines (another TIL).

In some common law jurisdictions, the lives of the British royal family are used because they are a well defined set (no ambiguities about secret members) and their members enjoy a ligh level of life and healthcare (ensuring long lives - see how long lived Elizabeth II with the stress of an official position).

Other states use other figures such as Presidential lives or patrician families (Rockefeller and Kennedy) in the USA or Eamon De Valera's family in Ireland.

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Johannes_P t1_jee8nlc wrote

Reply to comment by CornFedIABoy in TIL in order to prevent certain legal instruments from operating in perpetuity, a Royal Lives Clause may be written into a contract which provides a definite but extended period of time usually tied to twenty-one years past the death of last living descendent of the current British monarch. by AudibleNod

From the Wikipedia article, it seems the Rockefellers are also used.

But royal families have the benefits of officially recorded lineages ensuring no ambiguities about descendents and good living conditions and healthcare ensuring long lives.

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Johannes_P t1_jdor73g wrote

Reply to TIL of the Bolvano Train Disaster which claimed the lives of more than 500 people in 1944. After the train became stalled in a tunnel, the passengers and crew succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning when the locomotives attempted to continue and filled the tunnel with smoke. by MorsOmnibusCommunis

Even today, there's still people dying from CO poisoning because of ill-aired rooms, so don't forget to properly maintain your heating and aerate it.

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Johannes_P t1_jdkb6c6 wrote

Reply to comment by lotsaquestionss in TIL that Chinese Food was introduced into America during the California Gold Rush, starting in 1848. As 30,000 immigrants had arrived from the Canton region of China, the restaurants gave the predominantly male population a connection to home and provided gathering places for the Chinese community. by jdward01

The USA had laws allowing it to strip the citizenship of US women marrying with foreigner then ineligible to US naturalization (i.e. non-Whites and non-Blacks, including Asians).

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Johannes_P t1_j9quk1f wrote

Reply to TIL that in 1554 Elizabeth Crofts hid in a wall on Aldersgate Street, where she pretended to be a heavenly voice. Reputedly 17,000 people came to listen to her give out anti-Catholic propaganda. by Kurma-the-Turtle

I'm sure these 17000 people just loved to have a divine authority confirming their bias. Had Elizabeth Crofts said the Pope is the rightful head of Christianity, she would have been hanged for praemuire.

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