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TIL that 'The Teachings of Don Juan' and its sequels were submitted to the UCLA Department of Anthropology as non-fictional accounts of shamanism in the American Southwest; they earned their author a PhD. The books were later discredited as fabrications

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gMgKW TIL that the Nazis made a similar film to James Cameron's Titanic 54 years before he did as an attack on British and American capitalism
X0aQD TIL that unescorted women prevented men from casually assaulting them in the early 1900s with a simple clothing accessory - the hat pin, and it was so effective as a weapon that laws were passed limiting it's length in many states.
R7Ada TIL Swimming pools used to be called "swimming tanks", which inspired the name "tank top".
wen6 TIL there is country that ranks lower than North Korea in the Press Freedom Index, which measures how much freedom journalists have. Eritrea surpassed North Korea as the bottom spot in 2007 and has held it since.
pYJN TIL that the Whipping Tom of 1681 would assault women, lifting their dresses and slapping their buttocks while yelling “Spanko!”.