› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, a blackface parody of Snow White, has been praised by animation historians, and has been included on lists of the greatest animated films ever - but is considered to have racism unparalleled in cartoon history, and has been banned from circulation since 1968

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WkXQL TIL that 17th century pirate Laurens de Graaf married a woman after she threatened to shoot him for insulting her. She had challenged him to a duel to avenge her dead husband. When he drew his sword, she drew her gun. Laurens said he couldn’t fight a woman and proposed to her out of admiration.
vw67 TIL that the doctor who discovered that hand washing prevented the spread of disease was committed to an asylum, where he died after being beaten by the guards.
4kbpa TIL that the first alarm clock could only ring at 4 AM because it was made for a factory worker who needed to wake up early.
4XxvR TIL of pokeweed berries. Found in our backyard, these berries look like a cross between blueberries and grapes. These berries are dramatically poisonous and can result in respiratory paralysis. Birds are immune to the poison; dogs, humans, and other mammals are not.
Zr5Y TIL that the CALM Act, which forbids TV ads to be louder than programs they accompany, was proposed when a loud commercial interrupted a congresswoman’s dinner. When she complained to her brother-in-law about it, he replied “Well, you’re the congresswoman. Why don’t you do something about it?”