› added 19 minutes ago

TIL "La Catrina" - a skeleton that is the icon of the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) - was originally known as Calavera Garbancera. José Guadalupe Posada, the engraver, illustrated her in ostentatious attire to satirize the way the "garbanceras" attempted to pass as upper-class.

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BYWb TIL The Roman Imperial army created specialised fighting units to capture dangerous wild animals to fight in the colosseum. They were forbidden from harming the animals and were considered to have one of the most dangerous jobs in the empire.
Y7Jwx TIL about an energy drink sold in the 1920s that was water with (flavorless) Radium, a highly radioactive element. Thousands like Eben Byer suffered “Radium Jaw” (gore warning)
VBoY8 TIL about long-term nuclear waste warning messages, designed to warn civilizations ~10,000+ years in the future of the dangers of nuclear waste sites. Proposed solutions include an atomic priesthood to perpetuate rituals and myths, and cats genetically modified to change color when irradiated.
6EYp8 TIL Cleopatra Was Not Egyptian
Eg0Q0 TIL in 2011, a man died as a result of inserting his penis in a bottle. Apparently, this was the first case of death related to penile strangulation ever recorded.