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TIL that on the set of David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986), actor Dennis Hopper was actually huffing helium gas during his scenes portraying drug use.

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vbxx TIL there was a punishment called “Derby’s dose”, in which “[A] runaway [slave] would be beaten, and salt pickle, lime juice, and bird pepper would be rubbed into their open wounds. Another slave would defecate into the mouth of the miscreant, who would then be gagged for hours.”
woA01 TIL that a group of college students once used physics to beat Las Vegas’ infamous roulette machine with a machine in their shoe, giving them over a 20% advantage over the house when working.
gMPE8 TIL in 1857, a congressman from New York killed the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia over the attorney’s affair with his wife. He claimed temporary insanity (thanks to his wife’s infidelity), the first time this defense was used in U.S. history. He was acquitted.
v1VE7 TIL that people in the 18th century started wearing wigs because many people had hair loss as a result of syphilis. Out of solidarity other people started wearing wigs as well and so it became a trend.
OGLZ7 TIL Greenday's American Idiot was released 20 years ago August 6th