› added 12 years ago

127

TIL the way Dr. Seuss pronounced his name was that it rhymed with “voice”

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6EnM7 TIL that Billy the pygmy hippo was the pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, outlived him by 23 years, and sired 18 children all named Gumdrop
gMeYX TIL the largest power outage in U.S. history was caused by a software bug in an alarm system and knocked out power for most of the Northeastern U.S. and parts of Canada
jNXoj TIL The beak like mask which the black plague doctors wore was actually filled with sweet smelling substances usually Lavander; It's purpose was to aid with the smell of rot and decay and second, they believed that good smell would help them fight Black plague, which they believed it to be airborne.
WG98 TIL that suicide candidates in 18th-century Denmark were afraid to take their own lives because they believed it would send them to hell. Instead, they resorted to killing other people to receive the death penalty and repented before execution, believing that doing so would send them to heaven.
YpZ1A TIL that when the very famous mime Jean-Gaspard Duburau (creator of the modern Pierrot) was accused of murder in 1836, hundreds of Parisians came to the courthouse. Not for the trial itself but just to finally hear the voice of the mime.