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TIL that in 1900, a physician named Jesse William Lazear wanted to prove that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. He allowed an infected mosquito to bite him, and he became infected with yellow fever, proving his hypothesis correct. He died 17 days later.

epr75 TIL that in ancient Athens, it was illegal for a person to hit a slave who did not belong to him, because it was difficult to tell a citizen from a slave by appearance alone. So if it were legal to hit another person's slave, then people would end up mistakenly hitting citizens on a regular basis.
OoEYe TIL of the Window Tax in that was forced in England, France, Ireland and Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries that spawned architectural decisions such as the double dutch doors as it was classified as a door to avoid the tax, but functioned as a window.
Jd78 TIL Bill Nye the Science Guy’s ex-wife tried to poison him
9wZbX TIL: A comedian formed the Union of Conscientiously Work-Shy Elements in Denmark as a joke, but he was unexpected elected with 23k votes and won a seat. His promises were better Christmas presents, the right to impotency, more renaissance furniture at IKEA, more bread for ducks, and better weather.
DwWp TIL that before he became emperor, it was predicted that Roman emperor Caligula had “no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae” After becoming emperor he built a 2 mile long bridge across the bay and proceeded to ride his horse across it.