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TIL Helen Keller was a librarian at public and college libraries including Drexel Institute and Columbia University and authored The Reader's Digest of Books.

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8a59G TIL there was a 1920 novel about Abraham Lincoln's mother titled 'The Matrix.'
PYeMn TIL of a Krasue, a Southeast Asian creature of folklore. The entity appears as the floating head of a beautiful girl but has internal organs hanging out below the neck. It floats through the night dragging its entrails and is said to eat both humans and animals. It drinks blood and eats organs.
j6Rnn TIL that Sharivari, the title of the 1981 proto-techno cult classic by A Number of names, refers to a European and North American folk custom designed to shame a member of the community. A mock parade would be staged through the settlement accompanied by a discordant mock serenade ("rough music").
xNXw TIL Snake Oil was a real product sold by the Clark Stanley company, and in 1917 the U.S. Govt. had a bottle of it tested, but discovered that it contained inert ingredients and no actual oils extracted from snakes. The government sued and won damages of $20.
OojjY TIL that a man choked to death after winning a cockroach-eating contest. In Florida. For a snake.