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TIL that Joseph Guillotin, who proposed the idea of the guillotine as a less painful method of execution, was born prematurely because his mother was in distress after hearing the screams of a man being tortured to death.

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rj6w TIL that a prisoner named James Carter was leading the men in a song called “Po’ Lazarus”. Someone recorded and preserved them singing for 40 years. In 2000 it was used in a movie soundtrack, which won a Grammy. Carter was tracked down and given thousands in royalties. He didn’t remember the lyrics.
D16lV TIL that the highest elevation of the city of Berlin, the Teufelsberg (Devil‘s Mountain), is not of natural origin. The 260ft tall mountain consists of the rubble and remains of the town after the bombing at the end of World War 2.
rNaQ4 TIL after "the world’s largest beach clean-up" at Mumbai's Versova beach, Olive Ridley turtles returned to lay eggs for the first time in 20 years.
D18jg TIL Apollo 12 was hit by lightning twice within a minute of launch, knocking out the command module instruments, lighting up nearly every warning light on the control panel and garbling the telemetry to mission control. Earlier training simulating such a failure allowed them to restore power.
7BBp TIL The oldest cat to ever live was named Creme Puff and lived 38 years. Creme Puff’s owner had a second cat named Granpa, who lived 34 years. Both cats were fed a diet of bacon and eggs, asparagus, broccoli, and coffee with heavy cream.