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TIL That the song "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M. is a reference to an incident in which Dan Rather was assaulted by a man who repeatedly shouted "Kenneth, what is the frequency?"

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YpR5x TIL why we have middle names. The 3 names used today began in the Middle Ages when people were torn between giving their child a saint’s name or a common family name. The practice of giving 3 names eventually resolved the problem with a formula, given name 1st, baptismal name 2nd, surname 3rd
E1gld TIL that the Slinky was invented by accident, when a Mechanical Engineer was working to devise springs that could keep sensitive ship equipment steady at sea. After accidentally knocking some samples off a shelf, he watched in amazement as they gracefully “walked” down instead of falling.
wLPOJ TIL the phrase "no strings attached” is directly tied to 18th century fabric merchants who would mark flaws in woven cloth by tying small strings to the bottom of the bolts at the locations where flaws were present.
wMw6 TIL photographer Mathew Brady captured over 7000 photos of the US Civil War (including the portrait of Lincoln that would be used for the $5 bill), which have become the most important visual documentation of the period. He died in debt after the US gov’t did not buy his master-copies after the war.
eLJ4 TIL about Sonny Graham, who received a heart transplant from a suicide victim, then married the donor’s widow, then committed suicide in similar circumstances.