› added 11 years ago

514

TIL that the Germans have a word for a device that does everything: “Eierlegende Wollmilchsau” - It literally means “Egg laying wool milk pig”.

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8axeP TIL of Helen Gandy who was Edgar Hoover's secretary for 54 years. The day of his death, she resigned and destroyed all of his personal FBI files that he used to manipulate key Washington figures.
kVaW TIL a woman, who was a private cook, had to keep changing jobs because her clients kept mysteriously getting sick or dying. She was later found to be the first person in the US that was a healthy carrier of Typhoid. She unintentionally infected 53 people, lending her the name “Typhoid Mary”
5Yd8D TIL that horseshoe crab blood, costing $60,000 per gallon, is unique and is integral in FDA testing. This has led to a massive effort by scientists to try to conserve this invaluable resource.
jN41n TIL Auld Lang Syne served as the national anthem of the Korean exile government and from 1945 to 1948, it was the melody of South Korea's national anthem.
eoZE TIL: The Democratic Donkey originated from opponents of Andrew Jackson, who they frequently referred to as a jackass. Jackson rolled with it and used the donkey on his campaign posters and the image has stuck since.