› added 3 days ago

TIL in 2002 Kreskin convinced hundreds of Americans that there were going to be UFOs over Las Vegas. He later confirmed that "the sighting prediction was a total fabrication in order to prove people's susceptibility to suggestion post-9/11"

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VMVXG TIL So-called 'gut strings' for acoustic Spanish guitars were originally made from the small intestines of slaughtered sheep. The production material only changed - to nylon - during World War II, when all available gut was used in the production of surgical thread for wounded soldiers.
Z8eja TIL that during WWII, the US government recalled all paper currency circulating in Hawaii and replaced it with notes stamped with "HAWAII". In the event of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii, all currency captured would be easily identifiable and would be rendered worthless.
7rBeM TIL that "the Defenestration of Prague" was an actual historic event that shaped world history and led to 8 million deaths. (Yes, they really mean "defenestration". I never knew how that hilarious word came to be, but turns out this is the origin.)
v1vZ4 TIL that cocktails such as Rum and Coke and Jack and Coke, use Coke, not Pepsi, because of the popularity of a song called “Rum and Coca-Cola.” Pepsi offered to pay to rename the song, but was outbid. It became the second-highest grossing song of the 1940s, behind "White Christmas."
NX5WM TIL a depressed patient attempted suicide by gunshot to the head, destroying the part of the brain that may cause depression. Most of her depressive symptoms went away.