› added 4 years ago

138

TIL that Europeans in the 17th century once thought they could heal themselves by consuming human corpses. The remains were considered medicinal because they were believed to contain the spirit of the body they were taken from. Bone powder, human fat, and fresh, warm blood were in high demand.

Read more smithsonianmag.com

via reddit.com

wLN1 TIL Marvin Gaye gave his father the gun that killed him as a Christmas gift
6EP7m TIL the oatmeal raisin cookie was originally labeled as “health food” despite being almost equally fattening and sugary as chocolate chip cookies.
6NP8 TIL on his deathbed the writer/philosopher Voltaire responded to the priest asking him if he renounced Satan for his Last Rites, he responded,“Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies.”
W74YN TIL Black english is considered as a separate dialect called AAVE. It has survived several attempts of elimination from educators before being recognized as a variation of english and having its own grammar
W79ZL TIL that one in 20 Americans say they are willing to use violence against “a person who does not share their religion."