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TIL that the term "rooster" for a male chicken was introduced in the 18th century specifically as a euphemism to avoid the sexual connotation of the the original term "cock."

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GXR7 TIL that when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, Niels Bohr had his colleagues’ Nobel medals dissolved in acid. They were stored on a shelf until after the war, when the gold was precipitated and the medals re-struck by the Nobel Foundation.
54Dn TIL The Pledge of Allegiance was originally begun with the right hand over the heart, and after reciting “to the Flag,” the arm was to be extended toward the Flag, palm-down. It was changed during WWII as this closely resembled the Nazi salute.
p8pXN TIL that Cher was the first woman to regularly display her belly button on television, becoming the first woman to do so in front of a live studio audience in 1971
wL1V8 TIL: Despite having a lower rate of smoking, the United States has a 10x higher rate of lung cancer than Japan.
ADlEx TIL that in Germany, Holocaust denial constitutes a crime of incitement to hatred and carries a prison sentence of up to five years.