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TIL the words ‘sadism’ and ‘sadist’ are derived from the name of Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (1740-1814). Sade is best known for his erotic works, but he was also infamous for his sexual crimes and abuse. Sade was incarcerated for about 32 years of his life.

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dD778 TIL the sound a whip makes when you crack it is caused by a sonic boom created when the tip of a whip moves faster than the speed of sound. The whip was also the first man made object to break the sound barrier.
woYyM TIL Terry Jones said of fellow Monty Python member Graham Chapman's death on the eve of the group's 20th anniversary, it was "the worst case of party-pooping in all history."
ANpXd TIL that microwave power settings don't actually reduce the power; rather, they cycle the microwave energy on/off (i.e. 50% power means the energy is on half the time, not on all the time at half power)
9YO46 TIL that Edmund Ironside was allegedly stabbed whilst on a toilet, by an assassin hiding in the pit beneath. The assassin escaped after leaving the weapon fixed in Edmund's bowels
W7veo TIL the 1983 film "Taking Tiger Mountain" was based on William S. Burroughs' 1979 novel "Blade Runner: a Movie," which was originally a film treatment for Alan E. Nourse's 1973 novel "The Bladerunner" (the title of which was used for the otherwise unrelated 1982 film "Blade Runner").