› added 4 months ago

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TIL the first female US senator was also the last slave-owning US senator

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wonK7 TIL that Spartan women had more freedoms than Athenian women in ancient Greece. They participated in public life, owned property, and had sexual autonomy. Despite lacking citizenship, Spartan women had more privileges, making Sparta better for women.
eRlE TIL John Lennon had terrible stage fright, so bad that he would vomit right before every public performance.
E84V TIL Rachel Corrie, an American activist, was crushed to death by Israeli Defense Forces while trying to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes.
VBEOQ TIL that Bill Griffith's comics character, Zippy the Pinhead, was partially inspired by William Henry Johnson. Johnson was born with an unusual tapering cranium, which led some people to believe he was a microcephalic. When Johnson worked for P.T. Barnum, he performed as Zip the Pinhead.
MeWY8 TIL that “lead” pencils have never actually contained lead, but the Romans used lead as a writing tool.