› added 4 years ago

94

TIL that Marathonist athletes in the early 1900s used brandy, glasses of bubbly, and strychnine (best known now as rat poison) and sometimes even heroin or cocaine to mask pain, increase aggressiveness, and/or give a quick energy boost during races!

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via reddit.com

aXnL TIL many major cities in Europe offer ‘Sanisettes’: private, self-contained, self-cleaning, public bathrooms. After the user has exited, a wash cycle begins and the entire floor and toilet fixture are automatically sprayed, scrubbed and disinfected.
Rnm1 TIL the U.S. and Russian Military use depleted uranium bullets that can pierce vehicle armor; once the bullet pierces the armor, it gets sharper and automatically catches on fire, igniting fuel and causing the vehicle to explode.
mPLM TIL since the end of WW2, the US had a military doctrine that required it to be able to fight two wars, on two fronts, at the same time
MylA TIL in the “Rumble in the Jungle” fight, Muhammad Ali allowed George Foreman to fruitlessly strike him in the arms and torso for 8 rounds without fighting back to tire him out, then punched Foreman ten times in a row to knock him out.
Ojag TIL: Not only are cats still mostly wild, but they also pretty much tamed themselves.