› added 7 years ago

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TIL After Col. Shaw died in battle, Confederates buried him in a mass grave as an insult for leading black soldiers. Union troops tried to recover his body, but his father sent a letter saying "We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers."

PYyAG TIL: Tesla requires buyers to purchase cars online to circumvent state laws that require car sales to be done through franchise dealerships. "Tesla Stores" exist only to educate potential customers and to deliver vehicles purchased online.
9Y8dX TIL The term "bug" to describe a runtime error was popularized when in 1947 engineers discovered their program on a Harvard University Mark II computer was not working because a moth was stuck in one of the relays. They taped the bug into their engineering log book, still preserved today.
Zp7nY TIL Judaism is one of the oldest, still practiced, religions in the world. Though 'modern' Judaism has its roots in 500BCE, The oldest forms of Judaism are found in the Bronze Age in 1000BCE stemming from the worship of one of many polytheistic gods who would eventually be worshiped alone: Yahweh.
p8Dme TIL: NDMA (N-Nitrosodimethylamine) is a cancer causing ingredient put into a lot of products which show up on the USA's FDA recall list. Everything from medication to supplements and water have been found to contain NDMA, most recently listed Metformin Hydrochloride, Anti-diabetic medication.
e0Jak TIL that, unlike adult cataracts, which can be removed after years and normal eyesight is restored, severe pediatric cataracts must be treated within weeks or the brain will learn to permanently ignore the defective eye.