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TIL Theremin - a musical instrument uses electric current to play it as strings

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x6vV0 TIL about Vortex I, the only state sponsored rock festival in US history. It was done in Oregon coinciding with a visit from President Nixon to support the Vietnam war as a distraction for anti-war protestors.
b9LLN TIL Roman Catholics in Bavaria founded a secret society in 1740 called the Order of the Pug. New members had to wear dog collars and scratch at the door to get in.
xVLR1 TIL: That the original "Snake Oil Salesman" wasn't convicted of selling snake oil, he was convicted of selling FAKE snake oil. Oil from Chinese Water Snakes was considered a legit medicine at the time, but Clark Stanley was convicted in 1917 of selling fake snake oil.
8e1dK TIL that Jerry stopped doing standup routines after Season 7 of Seinfeld due to the extra work he had to do following Larry David's departure
M7KWb TIL that in 1868 the first non-electric gas-lit traffic light was installed in London outside the Houses of Parliament to control the traffic in adjacent streets. Its operational life was brief: it exploded a month later as a result of a leak injuring the policeman operating the traffic light.