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TIL that in the 1800s, mental asylum staff thought it would be a good idea to add a tall stone lookout tower that mentally ill patients could climb up for 'breathtaking views'. Many patients committed suicide by jumping out the tower's open windows.

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dw5j TIL on this day in 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony executed 2 people for being Quakers. King Charles II then banned such executions and called for greater religious tolerance.
LknMV TIL that in 1977, the FBI started to build a tunnel under the Soviet Embassy in Washington D.C to eavesdrop on the Soviets; the construction took years, was riddled with complications, and worse yet - the Soviets knew about the tunnel because of a tip-off
EorX TIL Sugar Ray Robinson tried to back out of his title fight with Jimmy Doyle after having a dream that he killed him in the ring. A priest and minister convinced him not to back out, and Jimmy Doyle died the night of the fight after being knocked out in the eighth round.
bG8Z TIL a man in Russia domesticated foxes that now sell for $9000. “Curiously, the friendly gene came attached to some other physical genes that made the foxes look like other domestic animals: curly tails, white faces, droopy ears. It took only about 35 years to completely domesticate the species.”
YmyW TIL that the Aztecs fought with a “Macuahuitl” - a wooden sword embedded with prismatic blades made from obsidian, a volcanic glass stone. According to reports from Spanish conquistadors, it was sharp enough to decapitate a man and even a horse.