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TIL: The Bay View Massacre occurred in 1886 when workers demanded an 8-hour workday. When the workers shut down the town, the Governor of Wisconsin gave the National Guard orders to shoot-to-kill. When the Guard Captain got the orders, he picked a man out of the crowd and had him shot.

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epp85 TIL In 1860s, thousands of octagonal houses started popping up in the United States. Orson Fowler’s book that popularized this layout claimed it was a more efficient use of space, energy, and cost than the square structures. It is estimated that around 2,000 octagon homes remain.
kJbA5 TIL on 9th July 1917, the Captain of the battleship HMS Vanguard remarked that if the ship were to sink it would either explode and kill everyone instantly; or slowly enough for all of the well-trained crew to escape. 5 hours later the ship exploded. 843 of the 845 men aboard were killed
LgmZ TIL 90 to 95% of mobile phone sales in Japan were waterproof because Japanese young girls are so fond of their mobile phones they even use them in the shower.
p8Lg8 TIL the seeds of the American persimmon, native primarily to the southeastern US, were used as buttons by the Confederate Army during the American civil war for their clothing, and they can also be ground into a coffee substitute. Naturally, the ripened fruit can be eaten fresh or used in baking.
LQpZZ TIL that the word hysteria originates from the Greek word for uterus, hystera. The Egyptians attributed the behavioral disturbances to a wandering uterus – thus the condition later being dubbed hysteria