› added 9 months ago

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TIL In late 70s-80s, 117+ healthy SE Asian men, many Hmong, died in their sleep mysteriously, leading to CDC investigation. The Hmong attributed it to evil spirit Dab Tog, inspiring Wes Craven's Freddy Krueger in "Nightmare on Elm Street."

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oBodo TIL that the reason one cannot drive straight from North America down to South America is one 100km stretch of extremely difficult, dangerous and environmentally sensitive terrain called the Darien Gap in Central America
BgBOL TIL John Atherton, an Anglical Bishop during the XVII century, helped extend the "Buggery act" to Ireland which punished sodomy with death. 6 years later he was hanged to death, for the crime of sodomy.
KZbw TIL a tortoise named ‘Harriet’ died in 2006 at the age of 176. To put that into perspective, she was a pet of Charles Darwin in 1835 and lived until blu-ray discs were available.
x97D TIL that the US government rejected several mobile hospitals, water treatment plants, 1 million barrels of oil, canned food, bottled water, 1500 doctors and 26.4 metric tons of medicine from Cuba and Venezuela for the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
lojnK TIL that George Lucas, after graduating with a bachelor of fine arts in film in 1967 tried joining the United States Air Force as an officer, but was immediately turned down because of his numerous speeding tickets.