› added 8 years ago

168

TIL of Whipping Tom, the name given to two serial spankers in London in the 17th & 18th centuries. “On seeing an unaccompanied woman, he would grab her, lift her dress, and slap her buttocks repeatedly before fleeing. He would sometimes accompany his attacks by shouting "Spanko!”“

Read more wikipedia.org

via ift.tt

XERwX TIL of Le Pétomane, a french flatulist (professional farter) who performed at the Moulin Rouge in the 1890s. He was said to have been so skilled as to be able to mimic the sounds of cannon fire and thunderstorms, as well as the sounds of farm animals.
woVv7 TIL in 2001, the Japanese emperor admitted the ancient Korean blood (Baekje royal family) in the "unbroken" imperial line of Japan, and Korean influence in the formative years (7~9th century) of Japan. In Korea it became front-page news, while in Japan most media stayed silent
xVAaw TIL of Dancing Mania, also known as dancing plague, St. John's Dance or St. Vitus's Dance. This was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people dancing erratically, sometimes thousands at a time.
9YQy7 TIL of a serial arsonist in California who worked as an arson investigator and fire captain, and would commit arson on his way to and from arson investigator conferences. Before his arrest, he even wrote a novel about a firefighter who was a serial arsonist.
N71XN TIL in 1986, the 18-year-old Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander participated in the 120 mile long ice skating tour known as 'Elfstedentocht'. He entered under the pseudonym 'W.A. van Buren', and managed to finish the tour that passes 11 historic cities in the Dutch province of Friesland.