› added 9 years ago

196

TIL the Spanish Inquisition ended witch trials in Spain a full century before the rest of Europe because it required scientific proof of witchcraft - not just eyewitness accounts.

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Wka99 TIL that metal eyelets allowed for corsets to be tightened further than before in Victorian England. So much so it would displace organs.
6Ejaw TIL Alcatraz's prison guards created the myths about man eating sharks and deadly waters of San Francisco to discourage prisoners from escaping. There is only one recorded shark fatality in San Francisco in 1959
BrpQe TIL that Queen Victoria was addicted to cocaine infused chewing gum. She was even believed to have shared some with a young Winston Churchill.
6AgZ TIL The Bush family owns land in South America that sits atop a water reserve (aquifer) that could supply the world with 200 years of fresh drinking water.
E1NgV TIL that modern examination of classic Damascus steel revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes, the likely source of the material’s mythical reputation for strength.