› added 4 years ago

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TIL before alarm clocks were cheap or reliable, "knocker-uppers" specialized in waking people up in the morning by shooting dried peas with blow guns at their windows. They would not leave until they made sure that their clients had actually awoken.

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wLDQJ TIL of Felis nigripes: the African Black-footed Cat, aka "the deadliest cat on earth", weighing in at under 5 lbs. It kills 10 - 14 rodents or birds per night to satisfy its accelerated metabolism. The Black-footed Cat has a kill rate of 60%, whereas a lion's kill rate is about 25%.
6EL1l TIL that one of the charges against Marie Antoinette included incestuous relations with her son Louis-Charles, who was forced to testify that his mother had molested him. After a two-day show trial, an all-male jury found the former queen guilty on all charges and unanimously condemned her to death.
Zpy7D TIL about Castoreum, a Secretion from Glands near the Anus of Beavers that has been used in Perfumes and Food to Mimic Vanilla
VBkxZ TIL about Chewang Norphel, an engineer who created 15 artificial glaciers in the Ladakh region of India, a high altitude cold desert drier than the Sahara, increasing water access to many villages transforming the lives of thousands. He was called "The Iceman of Ladakh".
k5lg TIL German Chocolate Cake is Not German, Its from Texas, named after the “German Chocolate” Used in the Cake, Which is Also Not German.