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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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4QkJ TIL of Archibald McArthur, a successful Wisconsin lawyer who took a vow of poverty, later moved to Florida at age 79, and left his family members each $5, while leaving his remaining fortune of $3 million in today’s money to a stranger he met on a park bench.
0wrjR TIL that child beauty pageants are illegal in France to prevent the hyper-sexualization of young children. Punishment can be up to two years in prison.
5VgNB TIL that Duck Sauce was created in America, after the Chinese started restaurants in the US, and realized that Americans would prefer a sweeter alternative to the Tianmian (Sweet Bean) Sauce traditionally served with Peking Duck.
ep7yg TIL Apollo 11 astronauts had to sleep on the cold lunar module floor but astronauts from Apollo 12 on were provided with adjustable hammocks which helped reduce the cooling effects of contact with the cabin floor
9V1m TIL Warner Bros. spent $10 million on a “Mr. Limpet” remake starring Jim Carrey only to abandon the project when the animation tests were deemed “horrifying”