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TIL William Thornton, a phycisian and a close friend of George Washington failed to arrive early enough to treat him in 1799. Instead he proposed a plan to reanimate his frozen corpse using blankets, a transfusion with sheep's blood and a tracheostomy to pump his lungs with air. It was rejected

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b9wpp TIL about the practice of widow's succession. This was a practice used by several countries in the early 20th century were if a politician died in office they would be succeeded by their widow. The practice resulted in some of the earliest women to hold political office in modern times.
me5M TIL of 14-year-old Aitazaz Hassan Bangash, who sacrificed his life after tackling a suicide bomber who was determined to kill students gathered for their morning assembly at their school. During the scuffle, the bomber dressed in a school uniform, panicked and set off the bomb, killing them both.
Z8yx4 TIL that Discovery Channel lied to a scientist in order to get him to participate in a fake documentary on Voodoo sharks for Shark Week, and edited the interviews on Bull Sharks to make it appear as if he was researching the Cryptid Shark. He did not know what the program was about until it aired.
kJ1GB TIL of the Greek god Dionysus (created circa 1,300BC) had a mythology so similar to Jesus the two shared multiple nicknames, origin fables, death fables, "profession," and even being "a sacred king killed and eaten in an eucharistic ritual for fecundity and purification."
m14ny TIL Purple is the rarest colour on national flags. In fact, of the 196 countries of the world, virtually none of them use purple on their national flag.