› added 1 year ago

55

TIL that the two candidates in the 1886 Tennessee Gubernatorial Election were brothers. The two campaigned alongside each other, spending the first half of each campaign stop engaging in political banter and telling stories and the second half playing fiddle tunes while the crowd danced.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

xVdO5 TIL Paper Strength is measured in Kilometers, as a way to describe if a sheet of that paper measured that long would be vertically hung, it would tear on its own weight. That is to say, if a paper has strength of 14 Kilometers, a 14 Km long sheet would have to be vertically hung for it to tear.
lxyN TIL Blackbeard fell in a sneak attack by the Royal Navy. With only 19 crew members, he devastated one ship, boarded the other, and disarmed the Captain sent to hunt him. He was mid-killstroke when he had his throat slashed. Examination of his body revealed 5 gunshot wounds and over 20 sword wounds.
ZpaLR TIL about “minced oaths” — a type of euphemism based on a profanity or blasphemy that has been altered to remove the objectionable characteristics of the original expression
o87E TIL 140 years ago, August 2, 1876; James Butler “Wild” Bill Hickok was fatally shot from behind by Jack McCall while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. He was holding two black aces and eights, later named “The Dead Man´s Hand”.
b6vJZ TIL Men who were killed by hanging would frequently get erections and sometimes even ejaculate. The phenomenon is referred to as death erection or angel lust