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TIL that before the Civil War, some psychiatrists diagnosed slaves with what they called drapetomania: “a mental illness in which the slave possessed an irrational desire for freedom and a tendency to try to escape.”

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l7aXK TIL when King Ferdinand of Spain died in 1065, he divided his kingdom between his three sons. They immediately went to war. Within a few years, Sancho was murdered, García was imprisoned for life, and with his brothers out of the way, Alfonso VI lived a relatively easy life—reigning until age 69.
wYw7 TIL that the official date for Opposite Day is the 25th of January.
VBLJB TIL George C. Scott called the Oscars "a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons," and sent a telegram to the Academy telling them that he'd be refusing the award, and didn't even want his name on the ballot.
jN8la TIL that two months before the Wuhan virus emerged, the DJT administration cancelled a $200 million program designed to help Chinese scientists detect and respond to pandemic threats.
4Nlg TIL a pregnant employee at a Christian school was fired for having premarital sex. The school subsequently offered a job to the man who had gotten her pregnant.