› added 5 months ago

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TIL that in 2017, an Ohio Sheriff's office auctioned off an M1921 Thompson submachine gun, that they originally owned. The starting bid was 40k USD, and the Thompson was eventually sold for 90k USD. The Sherriff's office originally purchased the weapon on May 13th 1934.

Ypdxx TIL of the 1862 explosion at the Allegheny Arsenal, where almost all of the 78 workers that died from the massive set of explosions, were girls and young women, who replaced young boys/men who flouted common-sense safety precautions.
xw4b TIL that Chicago Tribune staff accidentally discovered never seen before photos of the steamship Eastland that capsized in 1915 (3 years after Titanic disaster) off the coast of Chicago due to being top heavy and causing the ghastly death of 844 passengers
X0XOP TIL that a New Jersey statute prohibits most retailers from possessing more than two retail alcohol distribution licenses, thus making it difficult for chain stores to sell alcoholic beverages
99NX TIL of the “suicide palm” recently discovered in Madagascar that flowers itself to death. The plant grows for decades before exploding with nectar-rich blossoms that deplete the plant’s nutrients and cause it to die
DW5r TIL According to Norse mythology, Thor’s hammer Mjölnir was originally intended to be wielded with both hands. Its characteristically short handle is due to a manufacturing defect caused by Loki who harrased the dwarven brothers Sindri and Brokkr while they were forging the weapon.