› added 6 months ago

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TIL during the Prohibition era in the US, the now-defunct drugstore chain Rexall sold a branded cologne/aftershave called “Bay Rum” which contained 58% grain alcohol but was labeled "for external use only." It quickly became a popular, somewhat toxic, source of legal beverage alcohol at the time.

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e00KL TIL John Candy, John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Sam Kinison were each attached to the same three roles when they died at early ages. Those roles are now thought of as cursed.
mxNBM TIL King Louis IX, who died today in 1270, is the only French monarch venerated as a saint. He invited beggars to eat with him at his table daily, and replaced trial by combat with evidence-based trials.
m1DoP TIL about Spontaneous Human Combustion," a phenomenon where a body is found burned to ashes but surrounding objects are largely untouched, explained by forensic science as the wick effect, body fat melts and soaks into their clothes, acting like the wax fuel in a candle
E10YX TIL Many “Vampire killing kits”, allegedly from the 19th century, are sold in auction houses such as Sotheby’s, for upwards of $12,000. However, their authenticity is debatable as they contain materials that place them as being made in the 1930s or later. There is also no historical basis for them.
ANpKl TIL that in 1991, U.S. Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Mike Basham learned that Salomon trader Paul Mozer had been submitting false bids in an attempt to purchase more treasury bonds than permitted by one buyer during the period between December 1990 and May 1991. Salomon was fined $190 million.