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TIL that in the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, three men were caught alive on the roof of a hotel that was ablaze. Rather than see the men fall and be burned alive, a nearby military officer ordered his men to shoot them.

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via reddit.com

lMmV TIL: Jules Verne in 1863 made a book called “Paris in the 20th century” that has everything from glass skyscrapers, automobiles, hippies, computers, the magnetic train, modern music and so on. Publishers back in the day rejected it because they felt it was too unrealistic.
VM510 TIL that 'Soramimi' or 'soramimi kashi' is a Japanese term for homophonic translation of song lyrics.
jRvR TIL that More than 100,000 Americans Permanently Quit Smoking Due to National Media Campaign in 2012.
wL7B6 TIL that when a Doctor is confirming that a pregnant woman’s water has broken they will conduct a “Fern Test”. Under a microscope the amniotic fluid will resemble a beautiful pattern resembling a fern.
kOrM7 TIL when the territory of Wyoming applied to join the US, congress told them they'd have to stop letting women vote. Their response was "We will remain out of the Union one hundred years rather than come in without the women”. In 1890 they joined as the first and only state to allow women to vote.