› added 7 months ago

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TIL that during the filming of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in 1939, asbestos was used in several elements of the production, including the snow effects and the Scarecrow’s costume. Despite being aware of the health risks associated with asbestos, it was still utilized in the movie.

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yQE78 TIL Alaric, famous for sacking Rome in 410, was able to do so because he enjoyed the poetry of Claudian. Claudian had described a route through the alps into Italy in his poems, which Alaric found and was thus able to use and evade direct contact with the Roman army for 6-9 months.
b6mo7 TIL that ~10% of the population has an extra vertebra in their spinal column. It's adjacent to the tailbone and can be a cause of lower back pain and decrease in flexibility. Most people with it experience no symptoms, however.
oBXbY TIL Jeffrey Dahmer killed and ate his 17 victims in a one-bedroom apartment, with neighbors barely noticing anything besides the occasional smell of rotting meat in the hallway.
Brj0W TIL of earthquake lights. Flashes of lights reported before earthquakes throughout history, only relatively recently photographed and seriously investigated.
ep7K6 TIL "Children" by Robert Miles was a "dream trance" record aimed at reducing car accidents in 1990s Italy. With more clubbers falling asleep at the wheel after nights of dancing, drinking and drugs, DJs began playing records like "Children" to calm crowds down before sending them home.