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TIL in 1857, a congressman from New York killed the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia over the attorney’s affair with his wife. He claimed temporary insanity (thanks to his wife’s infidelity), the first time this defense was used in U.S. history. He was acquitted.

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mxN0P TIL - Most of the smoke billowing up from a space shuttle launch is not exhaust. It is water vapor from the pool of water under the shuttle designed to absorb the acoustic shock waves that could otherwise tear the shuttle apart.
4XN7J TIL the National Trust implores us to stop urinating in a toilet, in order to save the water used in flushing, and instead wee onto compost heaps, which speeds up the chemical process of decomposition, making it a better fertiliser to grow vegetables and save even more energy in reducing food miles.
vo0D TIL Matthew McConaughey’s father died while having sex with his mother and she insisted that he be carried out of the house naked after he was pronounced dead because as she puts it “I was just so proud to show off my big old Jim McConaughey — and his gift.”
RMdw TIL When Matthew Perry got onto the cover of People magazine for the first time ever,he sent it to one of his old teachers, Dr. Web, who said he would never amount to anything if he kept joking around all the time.
R7pZ4 TIL that James McCune Smith, the first African-American doctor, was rejected from all American colleges and had to attend the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he graduated at the top of his class