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TIL That one man, William Whewell, coined the words “scientist”, “physicist”, “linguistics”, “electrode”, “ion”, “anode”, and “cathode” among others

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1aa5V TIL the name Vanessa was invented by Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh, whom he tutored. The name was created by taking "Van" from Vanhomrigh and "Essa" from a pet form of Esther.
dD5mE TIL of Sun Yaoting, the last eunuch of China who had his penis and testicles removed at the age of eight. Less than two years before China abolish the monarchy.
8AnP TIL that in Turkish, the bird we call a Turkey is called “Hindi” (“from India”). In India, it’s called “Peru.” In Arabic, the bird is called “Greek chicken”; in Greek it’s called “French chicken”; and in French it’s called “Indian chicken.” The bird is indigenous to none of these places.
R7wK1 TIL that the Haitian Revolution was the only successful slave uprising
GYmrQ TIL if you’re starting with boiling water instead of cold water to hard boil eggs, if you dip the eggs in and out of the boiling water before you drop them in they’re less likely to crack.