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TIL an autograph Beethoven manuscript was missing for 115 yrs until a librarian at a seminary in Philadelphia stumbled across it in 2005. It contains annotations by Beethoven which provide insight into his thought processes in the months before his death when he was deaf. It was sold for £1.1 milion

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

xVeJ7 TIL That in 1837, The Speaker of the House of the Arkansas General Assembly Killed another Sate Representative with a Knife Right on the Floor of the General Assembly. They were arguing over a bill about wolf pelts. The killer won at trial and was never punished.
e0ABn TIL that in Singapore some elevators are equipped with Urine Detection Devices that detect the scent of urine, setting off an alarm and closing the doors until the police arrive to arrest the offender!
loQe5 TIL the battlecruiser HMS Hood sunk in only 3 minutes resulting in the deaths of 1418 men, and only 3 survivors.
wBN6 TIL there is a 5000 year old refrigeration technique using only principles of evaporation and humidity that can be produced with basic pottery, sand, a rag, and water.
Y7pRW TIL in ancient China pillows were made out of different materials such as jade, wood, or bamboo. A jade pillow was thought to make one smarter. Hard pillows were also preferred because of this belief. People then also thought soft pillows stole their energy while they were asleep.