› added 9 years ago

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TIL that once the British 1881 census was compiled, officials noted an alarming rise in the number of individuals being reported as “deaf and dumb”. After enquiries were made, it transpired that many enumerators had recorded babies as being deaf and dumb simply because they could not speak.

Read more findmypast.co.uk

via reddit.com

J1rGl TIL that many cultures believed in the healing power of dog saliva. Ancient Greeks had temple dogs lick wounds, and a French saying goes, “Langue de chien, langue de médecin”-“A dog’s tongue is a doctor’s tongue.” In Assyrian mythology, the dog god Aralez healed warriors by licking their wounds.
QaN6 TIL a ship’s cook was found alive in an air pocket inside a wreck, 100ft under the sea, 60 hours after it sank [bonus headcam video from very surprised diver in comments]
1voD TIL wikipedia has a list of aircraft, aviators or air passengers who have disappeared in flight, since 1856, for reasons that have never been definitely determined.
pYoje TIL the Steve Martin, Rick Moranis comedy, My Blue Heaven, and the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas both came out in 1990, and were both based on the life mobster Henry Hill. Goodfellas was based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, while the screenplay for My Blue Heaven was written by his wife
E1V0 TIL the original definition of “googolplex,” as defined by mathematician Edward Kasner’s 9-year-old nephew, was: “one, followed by writing zeroes until you get tired.”