› added 5 years ago

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TIL generic "elevator" music is called muzak after the American brand that dominated the market for background music in retail and public places since the 1930s.

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MegVB TIL that doctors in the past used to taste the patient's urine to diagnose various diseases. If the urine tasted "wonderfully sweet as if it were imbued with honey or sugar" it was a sure sign of diabetes.
DwgY TIL there are fake Harry Potter books written and distributed in China, masquerading as additional works of J.K. Rowling. They shamelessly rip off other authors’ work in tandem with hers, with amazing titles like “Harry Potter and the Leopard Walk-Up-To Dragon” and “Harry Potter and the Big Funnel.”
4XpEN TIL Dennis Quaid’s face appeared on warning labels of vials of blood thinner Heparin to remind nurses not to accidentally inject patients with high concentration doses after Quaid’s newborn twins almost died of an accidental overdose
GYBM1 TIL Charles Quinton Brown Jr. is a United States Air Force four-star general and currently serves as the 22nd chief of staff of the Air Force. He is the first African-American to be appointed as Chief of Staff and the first African-American to lead any branch of the United States Armed Forces
OGmPL TIL Emperor Commodus once set up a 14 days long extravaganza in the arena, which crowds were reluctant to attend because of a rumour that he was planning to reenact the stymphalian birds myth, in which "the birds" would be represented by the arena crowd and he would shoot arrows towards them