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TIL that in 1847, a doctor performed an amputation in 25 seconds, operating so quickly that he accidentally amputated his assistant’s fingers as well. Both later died of sepsis, and a spectator reportedly died of shock, resulting in the only known procedure with a 300% mortality rate.

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via reddit.com

Oo4Zg TIL in 1832, a US ship was captured by pirate Pedro Gilbert. After, he had part of filled with explosives, before setting it on fire with the crew trapped inside. However, they escaped and doused the flames, letting smoke billow out until the pirates had left. 6 weeks later, they returned to port.
lGW7 TIL that when local pagans were angered by a giant figure of Homer Simpson that was painted next to the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, UK as a publicity stunt for The Simpsons Movie, producer Al Jean remarked “this is the last religion we can possibly upset. Now we’ve got all of ‘em”.
bx9p TIL the stimulating effects of coffee were first observed in the 9th century by goat herders who noticed their goats started ‘dancing’ after eating coffee berries.
5VOvk TIL that Pete the friend/foil/antagonist in Mickey Mouse cartoons, comics, and other media is the oldest continuous Disney character
p8Zlp TIL When two subatomic particles called “bottom quarks” fuse, they release more than 7x the energy of individual fusion reactions in hydrogen bombs. The physicists who made this discovery kept it a secret until they were certain the discovery cannot be weaponized.