› added 9 years ago

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TIL James Buchanan Duke is credited as the inventor of the cigarette, made billions, and Duke University is named in his honor.

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wL1rW TIL in the 1930s, bridge construction projects expected one fatality for every $1 million in cost. So, the Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge enacted the most stringent safety measures in history. He even formulated diets to help fight dizziness and sauerkraut juice “cures” for hangovers.
ANLXa TIL of sky burial, a funeral practice in which a corpse is placed on a mountaintop and left to decompose or be eaten by vultures.
Z8Q6B TIL there are over 70 cats living in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. They are quite celebrities - not only films have been made about them but there's also a festival and a holiday dedicated to them.
7rAvx TIL that for centuries there has been a secret wing to a museum in Naples, where all the erotic art found in Pompeii was locked away. The cabinet remained closed for more than a hundred years – the doorway even bricked up at one point – and was only fully opened to the public in 2000.
YpwVW TIL due to a campaign in the 1970s, “Square Dancing” is the state dance in 75% (24 out of 32) of US States that list one.