› added 5 years ago

89

TIL of Bayocean, Oregon which was envisioned to be the 'Atlantic City of the West' but eventually completely sunk into the ocean due to poor city planning.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

m11YE TIL that Mark Felt, who notoriously provided reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with critical information about the Watergate scandal under the pseudonym "Deep Throat", was nearly nominated to serve as Acting Director of the FBI after the resignation of L. Patrick Gray in 1973.
GYArG TIL there was a cult that formed around the same time as Christianity which worshipped the emperor Hadrian's young gay lover Antinous, believing the boy was resurrected as Osiris after he'd drowned in the Nile.
DYde TIL that a librarian found smallpox scabs stored inside a 19th century medical book. In the 1800s scabs from infected people would be inserted into healthy people as a means of vaccination. These scabs have the potential to shed light on The evolution of the small pox vaccine used in the Us today.
4Xno5 TIL - When Roald Dahl attended school, the nearby Cadbury chocolate factory would occasionally send boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by students. It is believed that this likely inspired him in writing his third children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
R5DRw TIL that during the 19th century, wealthy individuals would sometimes purchase mummies from Egypt and have them unwrapped at parties or gatherings. This was considered a form of entertainment and a way to showcase exotic artefacts.