› added 6 years ago

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TIL: A man in India developed low cost sanitary pads for the rural women because they were so expensive. The purpose of his feat was to prevent his wife from using dirty clothes. His name is Arunachalam Muruganantham and Bollywood recently made a movie called "Padman" inspired by his story.

gpLX TIL Winston Churchill presented Joseph Stalin with a ceremonial Sword of Stalingrad in 1943. It was constructed of gold, silver, and crystal. Stalin kissed the sword and handed it to Marshal Voroshilov - who promptly dropped it.
DQPGD TIL Grateful Dead bassist played a prank on Jerry Garcia when he hired Barney to make a cameo mid-concert - his doing so was unknown to the other band members!!
0waE1 TIL the shape of bagels came from Europe centuries ago. One theory is that Jews in 13th century Poland were allowed to boil (but not bake) bread, and the shape distinguished the bread. But that's not the whole story, modern food science proves the shape increases cooking surface area and chewiness.
y6Yp TIL that the world’s oldest known complaint letter was written to a Sumerian copper merchant named Ea-Nasir almost 4000 years ago on a clay tablet: “You put ingots which were not good before my messenger and said: ‘If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!’”
pnbp TIL that in 1937, a natural gas leak at the local school in New London, Texas caused a massive explosion that killed upward of 295 students and teachers, the deadliest school disaster in US history. Adolf Hitler even sent his condolences by telegram.