› added 7 months ago

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TIL an 1858 heatwave caused the River Thames to reek unbearably due to raw sewage dumping. The stench was so intense that Parliament ended sessions early, and curtains were soaked in chloride to mask the smell. This was the tipping point that finally pushed London to build a modern sewer system.

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Z84ZY TIL of the 100th Infantry Battalion, famously made up of primarily Hawaiians of Japanese descent that went on to serve with distinction during WWII in the European Theater, still exists to this day as a reserve unit for troops from American territories in the Pacific.
VM9eZ TIL after the British government started pressuring hospitals to see emergency patients within 4 hours, there were occasions when patients were asked to wait inside ambulances until the hospital was sure that the patient cоuld be seen within the 4 hour limit, and only then would the patient come in
vGj8 TIL that there is a neurological condition called Witzelsucht, causing the affected person to make constant puns, jokes, and sexual comments in an inappropriate setting.
aK4L TIL After Nipplegate, Janet Jackson was blacklisted from Viacom’s properties, including VH1/MTV/CBS/Clear Channel Radio stations, uninvited from the Grammys, lost acting gigs, and had a statue of Mickey wearing her Rhythm Nation outfit taken down at Disney World
N76e8 TIL Part of the Jewish holiday of Purim is poking fun at the more far-fetched methods of Talmudic Biblical exgesis by using them to reach absurd conclusions