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TIL Showcasing his knack for self deprecating humour, Machiavelli towards the end of his life would sign as "N.Machiavelli, historian, comedian and tragic". The word "tragic" being a double entendre(author of tragedy/a person with a tragic life)

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9w0Rp TIL: Besides witch trials, there was a Wizard trial in Lyon which saw mainly men sentenced to death. They planned to form a pact with Satan and use magic to find hidden treasure. This differed from the usual cases of curses.
8aAbK TIL: You were more likely to get a job if you had smallpox scars in the 18th century. The scars proved that you already had smallpox and could not pass it on to your employers.
kOKRg TIL twins are becoming more common than ever. Around 1915, 1 in every 50 babies born was a twin, a rate of 2%. The rate increased to 3.3% by 2010 (1 in every 30 babies born is a twin). Scientists believe that older woman tend to have more twins and couples tend to start families later nowadays.
E5po TIL that ABC aired Saving Private Ryan on Veteran’s day, unedited, every year starting in 2001. The practice ended in 2004 (the year of Nipplegate), when nearly 30% of ABC affiliate stations declined the broadcast, even after The Walt Disney Company offered to pay all FCC fines for language.
mJWE TIL the term “mark” (for a gullible person) originated at carnivals when workers operating games of chance would give a patron a slap on the back with a dust covered hand, “marking” him as a sucker for other carnival operators.