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TIL Jane Stanford, founder of Stanford University, was murdered by strychnine poisoning. The president of the university at the time, David Starr Jordan, was suspected of covering up the murder. The killer was never found.

Read more stanfordmag.org

via reddit.com

WAnL TIL Kublia Khan’s niece Khutulun insisted that any man who wished to marry her must defeat her in wrestling and forfeit horses to her if they lost. She gained 10,000 horses defeating prospective suitors.
4kgOa TIL “Bésame Mucho” (“Kiss Me a Lot”) was written in 1941 by Consuelo Velasquez, who was about 15 years old at the time, in bolero style. Inspired by the Nightingale Aria from the opera “Goyescas” by Enrique Granados, she said that she had never been kissed when she wrote the song.
lo6dV TIL that tickling is a self defence mechanism against creeping insects like spiders and mosquitoes. Not only does light tickling not make us laugh, it draws attention to the spot where you feel it.
rR4mw TIL that according to the FDA, ketchup cannot flow more than 14 centimeters in 30 seconds at 20 degrees Celsius when tested in a Bostwick Consistometer. Otherwise, it must be labeled “Below Standard in Quality.”
D1rp TIL that in 2006, two women named Madeleine Mores (who claimed to have never met each other) both claimed to have the same identity along w/ corroborating birth certificates and govt documentation. When presented with a photograph of them together from the 1940’s, neither remembered it being taken.