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30771

TIL that the word “man” was originally gender neutral and “wer” and “wif” were used to describe males and females respectively. This is where the words like “wife” and “werewolf” are derived from.

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E1PmP TIL bulletproof glass can be manufactured to be bulletproof one way, but allow you to shoot through it the other way.
QNxyd TIL when he was an Illinois state legislator, Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel by state auditor James Shields. Lincoln insisted on broadswords as the weapon rather than pistols prompting Shields to back out and call for a truce.
4XgRX TIL when Amiens Cathedral was about to collapse (ca. 1500), a huge iron chain was installed inside the walls while still red hot. It pulled the stone arches back into shape as it contracted and cooled.
Me9YV TIL before the invention of the at home Pregnancy test in the 70s, doctors would inject a woman’s urine into rats and if the rat had ovulated, it was the sign of a positive pregnancy test
VBYNm TIL that during a college football game in US, many people gathered upon the roof of a glass blowing factory to watch for free. The roof collapsed, spilling fans onto a furnace. Twenty-three people were killed but the game continued. The event is known as The Thanksgiving Day Disaster.