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TIL Pausanias, the Spartan general who defeated the Persians at Plataea, was later accused of colluding with the Persians. He sought sanctuary at a temple, where his mother visited him only to lay a brick at the entrance, implying that they should seal it and starve him to death, which they did

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E1r8W TIL I learned that a lawyer once tried to bring a tic-tac-toe playing chicken into court to prove that being able to play tic-tac-toe did not prove you were mentally competent to understand the consequences of your actions or why you were being executed for them
16AdV TIL that neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Learning a new skill and learning new information can change neuron pathways and rewire the brain to function in new ways.
6EmZX TIL The Magistrate was adapted as a musical comedy that ran in London for 801 performances under the title The Boy. The plot was unchanged, but the characters were all given new names. In 1934, the play was adapted for the screen under the title Those Were the Days, starring Will Hay.
yVQbX TIL TIL After he died Einstein’s family directed that he—meaning all of him—be cremated. Dr. Thomas Harvey, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, decided to remove Albert’s brain before releasing his body to the undertakers. He stored Einstein’s brain in his home for 20+ years in Mason jars
GmXG TIL at 84 years old, Harvard Professor Tom Lehrer was asked by 2 Chainz for permission to sample a song Lehrer wrote at 24. He responded: “I grant you motherfuckers permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?”