› added 5 years ago

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TIL, the earliest form of smallpox immunization was used in China in the 1500’s. Doctors would take ground up scabs from people with mild cases of the disease, and blow the material into their nostrils. This lead to a mild version of the disease which had a mortality rate of ~2%.(20-30%if untreated)

Read more historyofvaccines.org

via reddit.com

oB7A TIL Nicholas Cage once woke up in the middle of the night to find a naked man eating a Fudgesicle in front of his bed.
LkMEd TIL Ninjas didn't actually wear black masks. The black mask associated with ninjas is actually an amalgamation of how a thief dressed in Japan. Ninjas also didn't use shuriken Throwing stars), they were used by Samurai swordsmen.
OGlog TIL of the Cypress of Kashmar, a 1450 y.o. giant Cypress tree said to have been planted by the Prophet Zoroaster in Iran. Despite prophecy warning against it, it was chopped down by the Caliph because he did not want to travel so far to see it. The Caliph was murdered soon after.
78Bvb TIL of Mary Somerville, a Scottish writer, polymath and the world's first ever scientist, the person for whom the word 'scientist' was invented. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and was admitted as one of the first female members of the Royal Astronomical Society
nWV4Y TIL a roller skating rink DJ named Chris Thrash bought a set of Showbiz Pizza's animatronic band called the Rock-afire Explosion, which had been popular in the 80s, and had new songs programmed and recorded for it and put on YouTube. He then opened up a Showbiz Pizza Zone restaurant with it in 2008.