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TIL Henry "Box" Brown escaped slavery in the American south by mailing himself to freedom. He had friends pack him into a small box, and ship him as cargo from Richmond to Philadelphia. He survived, and went on to work as a magician

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PYjBg TIL masturbation can begin as early as still being in the womb. Although babies of both sexes are known to masturbate in utero, boys are the only ones who can be caught while aroused via ultrasound
J1RO1 TIL about the Torino Scale, a tool used to determine the likelihood of an asteroid impact with Earth.
4kMAb TIL there was an early 1900s act named "Sober Sue", who's draw was she never smiled. A theater offered $1000 to any one who could make her laugh, attracting big comedians. Crowds came out to watch them try, and fail, giving them a free show. Later it came out that Sue suffered from facial paralysis.
mxR9O TIL that the Christian Cult called "The Children of God" encouraged its female members to enter into sexual relationships with potential converts to lure them in. Called 'Flirty Fishing', they 'successfully' lured over 100,000 men into the cult.
4X5Mb TIL that, tired of teaspoons being stolen from the breakroom, a medical institute conducted a study on the rate of disappearance of the spoons. They concluded that "an estimated 250 teaspoons would need to be purchased annually to maintain a practical institute-wide population of 70 teaspoons"