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TIL that “kiln” was originally pronounced with a silent “n.” Linguists believe that written descriptions of kilns reached people who had never heard of them before; they assumed the “n” was pronounced, and this mispronunciation took over.

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Y6BG TIL three minutes after the finale of MAS*H had aired approximately 77% of New York City flushed their toilets. This is estimated to be the highest water usage at one given time in the City’s history.
MeAGK TIL, in a small Japanese seaside town, there is an underwater mailbox. The town's former postmaster built it together with the local diver community to put their small town of Susami on the map and boost tourism. And, it worked. It's in the Guinness book of world records.
x68Xw TIL that a high school student exposed the King of Belgium's illegitimate daughter. Mario Daneels, 18 years old, wrote a biography of Queen Paola, wife of Albert II, in 1999 which revealed the secret. The embarrassing book appeared as Albert's heir Philippe (the current king) was about to marry.
x9y5 TIL the government attempted to develop a “gay bomb.” The theory was the bomb could discharge female sex pheromones on the enemy forces to make them sexually attracted to each other. Development was stopped when researchers determined it was impossible.
wAoY TIL that a DNA test where you poop in a bucket has been shown to accurately find colorectal cancer 92% of the time. This was developed as a potential alternative to screening colonoscopies.