TIL that showman P.T. Barnum got his start by purchasing an enslaved woman named Joice Heth. She was in her 70’s but he claimed she was 161 years old and had been the nanny of George Washington. He exhibited her until her death, and then allowed the public to view her autopsy for 50 cents each
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 01:26AM by wowbobwow
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 01:26AM by wowbobwow
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reddit
TIL that showman P.T. Barnum got his start by purchasing an...
Posted in r/todayilearned by u/wowbobwow • 767 points and 67 comments
TIL that 3 of the 5 longest recorded sniper kills were by Canadian soldiers using the McMillan TAC-50 rifle.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 05:23AM by WhatsAMisanthrope
via reddit https://ift.tt/33684cE
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 05:23AM by WhatsAMisanthrope
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Wikipedia
McMillan TAC-50
sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle
TIL IBM donated an International Translator System for use at the Nuremberg Trials, which brought the trial to life through simultaneous interpretation of English, Russian, French, and German delivered to 600 headsets with five audio channels. Later, IBM sold the proven system to the United Nations.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:25AM by SojourningCPA
via reddit https://ift.tt/3G04cbL
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:25AM by SojourningCPA
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The National WWII Museum | New Orleans
Translating and Interpreting the Nuremberg Trials | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans
Interpreters and translators were the unspoken heroes of the Nuremberg Trials. Their work at Nuremberg was a groundbreaking development in simultaneous interpretation.
TIL Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in an NBA game in 1962 but it was not televised and no video footage of the game has since been recovered. NBA wasnt recognized as being a major sports league and struggled to compete against college basketball. No members of the New York press were at the game
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:52AM by thisisnprnews
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:52AM by thisisnprnews
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Wikipedia
Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game
Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.…
TIL about "JanSporting", the act of putting a backpack on the intoxicated to prevent them from turning on their back while unconscious.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:42AM by LifelnTechnicolor
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:42AM by LifelnTechnicolor
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NBC10 Philadelphia
Why Do College Kids Think a Backpack Can Save a Drunk Friend's Life?
Hidden in the tragedies of two recent deaths at Pennsylvania colleges is an odd trend: Students putting backpacks on intoxicated friends to prevent them from sleeping on their back in case they throw up.
TIL the year zero doesn't exist: the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 11:08AM by LittleKidLover83
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https://ift.tt/3dFveZx
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 11:08AM by LittleKidLover83
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Wikipedia
Anno Domini
Western calendar era
TIL Karoshi, which can be translated literally as "overwork death", is a Japanese term relating to occupational sudden mortality. The phenomenon of death by overwork is also widespread in other parts of Asia. 745,194 deaths worldwide were attributable to long working hours in 2016, based on WHO/ILO.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 02:21PM by claw_wish
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HH1hW8
https://ift.tt/2ZI3bRJ
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 02:21PM by claw_wish
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Wikipedia
Karoshi
sudden death from overwork
TIL: Chemists Frank Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina were ridiculed by representatives of the aerosol and halocarbon industries for their hypothesis that CFCs would lead to depletion of the ozone layer. The chair of DuPont called it: "a science fiction tale...a load of rubbish...utter nonsense".
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 03:26PM by babababoons
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pZVg0t
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 03:26PM by babababoons
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Wikipedia
Montreal Protocol
environmental protocol designed to protect the ozone layer
TIL about the Bodo League Massacre of 1950, where 60,000-200,000 civilians suspected of being communists (many of whom had no connection with communism) were executed in South Korea during the Korean War
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 03:39PM by ultimationt
via reddit https://ift.tt/3q26oKx
https://ift.tt/31wVlzx
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 03:39PM by ultimationt
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Wikipedia
Bodo League massacre
Massacre during the Korean War.
TIL Ben Franklin performed his kite experiment standing on an insulator under a roof holding a dry silk string. He attached the silk string to a key, the key to a hemp string, and the hemp to a kite. The key was also attached to a Leyden jar which stored electricity conducted from a storm cloud.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 04:55PM by wjbc
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 04:55PM by wjbc
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Wikipedia
Kite experiment
Science experiment on lightning and electricity
TIL that owls cannot move their eyes. This is because their eyes are not balls, but cylinders that are held in place by bones called sclerotic rings. This is also the reason that owls have evolved to be able to rotate their head 270 degrees left and right, and 90 degrees up and down.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:11PM by Cowzilla94
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:11PM by Cowzilla94
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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.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:09PM by _Tactleneck_
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https://ift.tt/2nbes9L
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 07:09PM by _Tactleneck_
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Wikipedia
Project 100,000
1960s program by the United States Department of Defense to recruit soldiers who would previously have been below military mental or medical standards
TIL in 1943 three Italian POWs escaped a British camp and climbed Mount Kenya with improvised equipment. After an eventful 18-day period on the mountain, they broke back into camp. They received 28 days in solitary confinement, commuted to 7 days by the camp's commandant for their "sporting effort"
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 06:54PM by Brutal_Deluxe_
via reddit https://ift.tt/3zwFbTe
https://ift.tt/3q0gonv
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 06:54PM by Brutal_Deluxe_
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Wikipedia
No Picnic on Mount Kenya
1947 book by Felice Benuzzi
TIL: it’s so common and customary to have American style tacos on Fridays in Norway, they have a name for it: Fredagstacos
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 08:04PM by Tinaszombie
via reddit https://ift.tt/31w6K2q
https://ift.tt/3n2or1k
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 08:04PM by Tinaszombie
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Sons of Norway |
In Norway, it’s Taco Friday | Sons of Norway
TIL that one of Rowan Atkinson's first appearances as Mr. Bean was at Montreal's Just For Laughs festival in 1987. There, Atkinson insisted on being on the French-speaking bill to see how Bean's act would work on a non-English-speaking audience. At the time, organizers were confused but accepted.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 08:51PM by sexpressed
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pZ44nk
https://ift.tt/3HGsVST
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 08:51PM by sexpressed
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Wikipedia
Mr. Bean
British comedy television series
TIL about Room 39, a secret organization tasked with earning foreign money for the North Korean government. They are estimated to earn up to $1 Billion annually, allegedly being involved in drug trade, counterfeiting money, insurance fraud and workers exploitation. They also run a restaurant chain.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:26PM by weissergspritzter
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HBsjOq
https://ift.tt/3JNnZ0v
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:26PM by weissergspritzter
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Wikipedia
Room 39
alleged slush fund operated by the North Korean government
TIL Richie Havens created the song "Freedom" spontaneously at the Woodstock festival as he had nothing else to play, but needed to continue performing as the other acts were delayed. It became his most famous song. He then had to watch the Woodstock movie to learn how to play it.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:57PM by omnificunderachiever
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:57PM by omnificunderachiever
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Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Richie Havens: 50 Years of Peace & Music
Richie Havens was the opening act at Woodstock, even though he wasn't scheduled to be. Learn more about his iconic opening performance and music career here.
TIL that octopuses have copper-based blood rather than iron-based blood…which makes their blood blue in color. (Incidentally, they also have three hearts to pump that blood.)
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Submitted January 07, 2022 at 12:32AM by Willie_Everlearn
via reddit https://ift.tt/3eVTfMH
https://ift.tt/338kcKu
Submitted January 07, 2022 at 12:32AM by Willie_Everlearn
via reddit https://ift.tt/3eVTfMH
Today I learned that Ringo Starr suggested that the Beatles album that would eventually be noscriptd Revolver should be noscriptd After Geography, in reference to the recently-released Rolling Stones album Aftermath.
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Submitted January 07, 2022 at 01:23AM by wimpykidfan37
via reddit https://ift.tt/3eZXCGo
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Submitted January 07, 2022 at 01:23AM by wimpykidfan37
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Wikipedia
Revolver (Beatles album)
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966, accompanied by the double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine". The album was the Beatles' final recording project before their retirement…
TIL that leap years are not EVERY 4 years; every century we skip a leap year unless that year is also a multiple of 400, so there was no leap year in 1700, 1800, or 1900, but there was in 2000. Nobody alive today has experienced a skipped leap year.
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Submitted January 07, 2022 at 03:25AM by ShitpostMcPoopypants
via reddit https://ift.tt/3G3CFq9
https://ift.tt/3qPwtvo
Submitted January 07, 2022 at 03:25AM by ShitpostMcPoopypants
via reddit https://ift.tt/3G3CFq9
TIL about the Heikegani, or "Samurai Crab". Their shell bears resemblance to an angry samurai, and are commonly thrown back by Japanese fishermen out of respect for Heike warriors defeated in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in the year 1185.
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Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:25PM by Oray388
via reddit https://ift.tt/3G78ePK
https://ift.tt/1oLEwaI
Submitted January 06, 2022 at 10:25PM by Oray388
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Wikipedia
Heikegani
species of crustacean