› added 6 years ago

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TIL that during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, many black citizens, widely believed to be immune to the disease, volunteered to deal with the dead and dying as white citizens fled the city. The immunity seems to have not actually existed, and blacks died at the same rates as whites.

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oZyr TIL: Empedocles, 5th century Greek philosopher most known for the development of the idea of the Four Elements, also concluded that matter could neither be created nor destroyed, and developed a theory of evolution concluding that form followed function and that the most fit survived.
LQLW0 TIL There is an actual Rhode Island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Despite being the state's namesake and the island's "original" name, no one calls it that, and the locals have colloquially renamed it to Aquidneck Island.
JY5e4 TIL that scientists had to rename as many as 27 human genes because Microsoft Excel kept misreading their symbols as dates
0d55A TIL that during the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, F1 driver Martin Donnelly survived a terrifying 140 mph crash that flung him onto the track while still strapped to his seat, as his car split in half. His injuries were so severe that a priest was called to administer last rites. He survived.
PYDeG TIL that the flash from cameras does not harm artwork. In a 1995 study, the London National Gallery concluded that camera flash is dangerous after measuring the color change in test pigments that were exposed to over 1,000,000 flashes. However, the control group showed the same amount of change.