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TIL: In the Zhou dynasty, the waist chop involved slicing the victim into two or more pieces and was famously used on poet Gao Qi who was sliced into 8 pieces due to his political satire. Today the term "waist chop" is used as a metaphor for the cancelation of ongoing projects, primarily TV shows.

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aBeN TIL the reason flamingos stand on one leg is to preserve body heat (water can rapidly draw away heat). In hotter weather, they tend to stand on two legs.
6EEam TIL the foot-measuring tool ("Brannock Device") used by shoe stores was invented by Charles Brannock in 1927. He was advised to make it out of plastic so regular replacements would be needed, but he insisted on steel. Today, most Brannock Devices survive 10-15 years of daily use before wearing out.
ADogB TIL of 'holdout houses' - old properties that hold out against new development. One such occupied 'million dollar corner' at Macy's in New York. Another example is Edith Macefield's house in Seattle, whose owner famously turned down an offer of $1M. She willed it to the construction superintendent.
x6rBg TIL that film director Charles Stone III (Drumline) created the famous Budweiser commercial "Whassup?".
vP49D TIL that as early as 1802, Thomas Jefferson designed a cypher wheel to encrypt messages. It's unknown if he ever actually built or used one, but a similar tool was invented for the U.S. Army to use from 1920 until the start of WWII. Jefferson's designs were discovered shortly after.