› added 7 years ago

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TIL that during World War I, French prostitutes with severe cases of syphilis charged higher rates than uninfected prostitutes, because soldiers infected with syphilis were removed from the front line

5eYD TIL Large Blue caterpillars secretes sweet fluids to attract red ants. The ants then take the caterpillar back to their nest so it can hibernate. The newly emerged butterfly is escorted by the ants to the surface and will protect it from any predators that attempt to attack the butterfly.
4XO4g TIL of TABOR, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which currently only exists in Colorado. It ties tax revenue increases to population & inflation, and larger increases have to be put to a vote. The author was named Douglas Bruce, and efforts to find work-arounds are known as "de-Brucing."
b9KD7 TIL that the author of the Japanese horror novel, Battle Royale, had a nightmare where a teacher commanded him and the other students to kill each other. He vividly remembers the expression on his face and his own terror in the dream, which got him to write the book.
6ErAZ TIL when in 1962 a poll was done to find the best Merseyside band, The Beatles became #1 after most-voted band, Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, had 40 votes declared void for having the same handwriting & sender area. However, the pollsters didn't notice The Beatles also had multiple fraudulent votes.
v1PJx TIL Jelly Roll Morton, at the age of 14 tricked his great-grandmother into believing he was a night watchman at a barrel house when in fact he was working as a piano player in a brothel. In that atmosphere, he often sang smutty lyrics; he took the nickname "Jelly Roll", which was slang for vagina.