› added 7 months ago

18

TIL coffee was all the rage in London in the 17th and 18th century until a fungus destroyed coffee plantations and forced the switch to tea in Sri Lanka

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via reddit.com

epvOE TIL that in 1874, a doctor published a book made of arsenic-laced wallpaper samples to warn about the dangers of toxic pigments, but the book itself poisoned and killed some people who handled it.
wWm7 TIL that after the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short (better known as the Black Dahlia), reporters called her mother, telling her that her daughter had won a beauty contest, once they pried enough personal information for their story, they informed her that her daughter had been murdered.
DQ0Yg TIL That the supporting vocals on Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" were not provided by Karla DeVito, who appears in the video, but by Ellen Foley the actress/singer who played 'Billie Young' for one season on the original 'Night Court'.
kOvE7 TIL of 'Kodokushi' or lonely death : A Japanese phenomenon of people dying and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time.
D1Bmp TIL Catherine Corless helped unearth devastating history of nuns from the Bon Secours order in Tuam, Ireland disposed of at least 796 babies in their septic system because they were illegitimate. Most died of neglect.