› added 12 years ago

82

TIL THAT TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY.

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x6O7o TIL of Sarah Baartman, the "Hottentot Venus", an African woman from the Khoikhoi tribe who was brought to Regency-era London to showcase her large buttocks. She was depicted in cartoons comparing behinds with Whig politician William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, who was nicknamed "broad bottom".
Y7GOP TIL that in medieval Europe, the Church’s emphasis on relics led to the practice of furta sacra, or "holy theft," where churches and monasteries would steal each other's relics believed to hold miraculous powers, thus increasing their own prestige and attracting more pilgrims.
6EJk7 TIL that in 1959 Robert Hunter of The Grateful Dead and Ken Kesey who wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest signed up to be CIA test subjects and we're given LSD. They enjoyed it so much they would take it from the facility and give it to their friends for recreation.
ADveg TIL of the euphemism treadmill, the concept of language being phased out and replaced due to offensive connections. For example, moron and idiot were legitimate medical terms, but were phased out due to people using them as insults. They were replaced with retarded, which has also been phased out.
R7g09 TIL that the worst building collapse in history killed 1100 in 2013. The building owner had bribed many official and investigators to conceal the many irregularities during construction. In the resulting trial, the owner was given just six months bail.