› added 6 years ago

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TIL of Lucy, a chimpanzee who was raised to believe she was human. She learned to sign over 250 words and some of her hobbies included drinking gin, browsing Playgirl magazines, and masturbating using a vacuum cleaner.

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DVJP TIL that the correct plural for octopus is either ‘octopuses’ or 'octopodes’, NOT 'octopi’. Octopus is derived from Greek, not Latin.
x6yO7 [TIL] Ring Around the Rosie is about the great plague. The roses are a euphemism for deadly rashes, the posies a supposed preventative measure; the a-tishoos pertain to sneezing symptoms, and the implication of everyone falling down is death
rgBd TIL there’s a pit in Russia so wide and deep helicopters can’t fly over it, and it can be seen from space.
PBWZ TIL in San Antonio, TX, lynchings used to be held in front of the San Fernando Cathedral until the priest cut the trees in which the hangings took place
W7RyX TIL that Bram Stoker’s widow Florence had the 1921 film Nosferatu declared a copyright infringement. She sued the production company into bankruptcy, ordered all copies burned, and had the court declare that owning a copy was illegal. The resulting cult status led to several copies surviving.