› added 6 years ago

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TIL Gillian Anderson's performance as Dana Scully in The X-Files sparked a phenomenon called the "Scully Effect" where the character's prominence inspired a measurable increase in the amount of women entering the scientific, medical, and law enforcement fields

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E1aXd TIL that in the 19th Century, to purge the body of illness, people would use an Antimony Pill. When swallowed, a tiny amount of antimony will dissolve in the gut and would cause severe diarrhea and vomiting. The pill would then be passed, fished from the feces, washed and stored, ready for reuse.
75YP TIL the Ginkgo tree is considered a living fossil, remaining unchanged for over 200 million years.
d5yZ TIL that when asked if he thinks his book genuinely upsets people, Salman Rushdie said “The world is full of things that upset people. But most of us deal with it and move on and don’t try and burn the planet down. There is no right in the world not to be offended. That right simply doesn’t exist”
b9lo4 TIL in 1998 a 23 year old man in Ohio choked to death on a live goldfish he tried to swallow on a dare. In response to if anyone would be charged for the man’s death, a police officer stated “If I dare you to jump off a bridge and you do it and you’re 23 years of age, you’re stupid.”
YpKXW Till soccer superstar David Beckham purchased insurance policy $195 million on his feet, his legs, and ten toes becoming the most expensive personal insurance policy in sports history.