› added 5 years ago

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TIL that a cannibal named Issei Sagawa has profited from his crimes. After murdering and eating his classmate in 1981, he was released due to a loophole and has translated his fame into books, talk show appearances, and even softcore porn films in which he bites his co-stars.

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PYRen TIL in 1865 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman to qualify as a medical doctor in Britain. On the day, 3 out of 7 candidates passed the exam, Garrett with the highest marks. The Society of Apothecaries immediately amended its regulations to prevent other women obtaining a licence.
KOEo9 TIL that Kevin Smith actually worked at the convenience store in Clerks. He worked all day, and they filmed all night (thus the closed shutters) for 21 straight days. He slept one hour a day during filming. The whole production cost $27k, funded by maxing out credit cards and selling his comic books
Z8X5Y TIL that Marcin Jakubowski, a Princeton fusion physics graduate, had a hard time finding a job out of college so he turned to farming. Upon purchasing his first tractor, he realized how inaccessible and expensive farming equipment was, so he created an open source tractor design.
oBmDA TIL in 1899, Denver journalists wrote a fake story that China was tearing down the Great Wall. To their surprise it was picked up by a major newspaper with "confirmation" from officials and illustrations of the wall being torn down. The hoax spread across the U.S. and Europe without being debunked.
nWVPb TIL in 1893 that the US Supreme Court unanimously decided a tomato is "legally" a vegetable.