› added 8 years ago

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TIL the term “loophole” comes from the name given to small windows in castles, where archers shot at attackers without the fear of being hit. At first meaning a small opening in a seemingly impenetrable defense, the term evolved to mean a spot where the law can be exploited without actually broken.

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VMRwk TIL: Before computerized mechanisms in cars, the clicking you hear in turn signals used to come from a heated spring mechanism — that was designed, both to produce the click, and to activate the exterior bulbs themselves.
P9vw TIL The material Magic Erasers are made of, melamine foam, is as hard as glass and actually scrapes away stains.
MePMb TIL Dan Aykroyd conceived of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for his initial script for Ghostbusters the movie. He created the character to show that "it seems harmless and puffy and cute—but given the right circumstances, everything can be turned black and become evil.”
oBMOK TIL about "Black Death" aka Henry Johnson, "the One-Man Army Who Fought Off Dozens of German Soldiers During World War I".
VQJB TIL, while Samuel Morse was in New York, he received a letter that warned of his wife’s illness. Morse left for home but arrived to find his wife already buried. Heartbroken that for days he was unaware of his wife’s illness and death lead him to research and patent the telegraph 22 years later.