› added 4 years ago

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TIL about Maj. Walter Reed (Walter Reed Medical Center is named for him) who was a major influence in the fields of epidemiology and bio-medicine. With a fellow doctor from Cuba he discovered that yellow fever was transmitted via mosquitoes and not human to human transmission saving countless lives.

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0wK6v TIL that after the Six Day War, Egypt closed down the Suez Canal in 1967 with 15 ships still on it. They remained stuck there for eight years, with the boat crew members forming the Great Bitter Lake Association. The GBLA had social clubs, its own version of an Olympics, and even stamps.
PYKBZ TIL that, in Irish parliament, after Paul Gogarty responded to Emmet Stagg with "Fuck you, Deputy Stagg! Fuck you!", the incident was brought to the Dáil committee, where it was discovered that the word "fuck" wasn't actually in the list of unparliamentary language.
Kp4 TIL that in the 18th century, to discreetly tax rich people more, Scotland, England and France imposed window taxes based on the number of windows your residence had. To this day you can see many bricked over windows from that time.
WkrNY TIL most sitcoms two-storey houses will have two staircases going upstairs usually in the living room and in the kitchen. This is meant to provide additional entry and exit points which helps with staging for the characters. Some examples I know: 8 simple rules, Grounded for life and That 70s show.
P9YV TIL Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels have agreed to reprise their roles as Harry and Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber for a sequel set to be released in 2014