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TIL that the Gatling gun was invented by a doctor who noticed that the majority of soldiers died in the civil war due to diseases not gun shot wounds

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loBrA TIL that before WWI Kaiser Wilhelm tried to impress Queen Wilhelmina of Holland by telling her "My guards are seven feet tall and yours are only shoulder-high to them." her reply was, "Quite true, Your Majesty, your guards are seven feet tall. But when we open our dikes, the water is ten feet deep!"
r7kM TIL that Ben Franklin wasn’t allowed to write the declaration of Independence because it was feared that he would hide a joke in it.
gBry TIL in the 1500s, British sailors would receive rations of rum as partial payment. To ensure the rum wasn’t watered down, they would measure the proof by dousing gunpowder with it, & then test to see if the gunpowder would ignite. The gunpowder would only ignite if the rum was >57% alcohol by volume
Q0xa TIL When a contestant leaves Hell’s Kitchen, they are taken for a psychiatric evaluation and then go to a house where they are pampered.
J1by8 TIL that Nicholas Flamel was a real person who is believed to have discovered the Philosopher’s stone