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TIL about the self-mummification practice of "sokushinjōbutsu" meaning "attaining Buddhahood in the flesh". The monks performed extreme "tree-eating", cold-water ablutions, exposure to freezing temperatures, etc. to become a Buddha in the flesh. This would result in mummification after 10 years.

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wLE6P TIL that the producers of Jim Carrey's The Grinch (2000) hired a CIA operative who instructed agents on how to endure extreme torture techniques to coach Carrey on how to remain calm while they applied his makeup (which took 8 hours the first time).
v15Z8 TIL of Godiva, who wanted lower taxes. To convince her husband the Earl, she rode her horse naked through the streets. The public was ordered to close their shutters. Tom decided to look and was struck blind. This produced the term "Peeping Tom" as well as the name of the chocolate company Godiva.
gMLa8 TIL a California dam collapse in 1928 is considered one of the worst engineering disasters in US history. Its chief engineer took sole responsibility, testifying, "If there was an error in human judgment, I was the human." Over 400 people were killed when the dam failed in the middle of the night.
rRED4 TIL that the mother of King Henry VII gave birth to him at the age of 13. The pregnancy was so difficult for her, due to her size and youth, that it made her unable to have anymore children. By the age of 15, she’d been married 3 times.
WkY5Y TIL that Henry Rogers and Ron Smyth of the University of Toronto investigated gay lisp, a stereotypical manner of speech associated with English-speaking gay men. In 62% of their cases, listeners correctly identified gay speakers.