› added 8 years ago

60

TIL that rubber, despite its many uses now, was called “rubber” because it rubs out pencil marks.

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d8e4K TIL the slippers of Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz book are silver but were changed to red for the movie to contrast better with the yellow brick road
P14Ow TIL of Drapetomania, a falsely proposed mental illness based on the belief that slavery was such an improvement upon the lives of slaves that only those suffering from some form of mental illness would wish to escape
9YREp TIL that there is a thing called the "sweater curse." Some knitters believe that knitting a sweater for a signifcant other and giving it to them as a gift will result in a breakup. A 2005 poll found that 15% of knitters have experienced it firsthand.
0dP9L TIL about Delphia Welford, who died at age 117 in 1992 and who remains the validated African-American longevity recordholder up to this very day.
VBXR4 TIL about the Huolongchushui: A dual-stage ballistic missile fielded by the ancient chinese navy in the 14th century, during the ming dynasty.