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TIL that during the 'leech craze' of the 1800s, leech collectors (who were usually women) would wade into ponds with their skirts raised to attract the leeches to their bare legs. Some used animals—such as horses that were too old to work—instead of their own bodies to catch the leeches

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J1lRk TIL that Lithuanian book smugglers smuggled Lithuanian-language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuania, defying the Russian Empire's 1864 ban on such literature. The Russians were trying to "russify" Lithuanians by forcing them to use the Cyrillic alphabet, and finally gave up in 1904.
0d85v TIL that Tchaikovsky received financial support from a patron that allowed him to pursue a career as a full-time composer. However, the patron stipulated that they should never meet in person.
jNPpv TIL that surgeons were able to drain all the blood from a patient in order to remove clot from the arterie, and keep him alive for 20 minutes by reducing his temperature to 20 degrees celcius.
dgxK TIL Australia has historical records dating back 10,000 that accurately convey the disappearance and reappearance of islands with the raising and lowering of ocean levels
0pYR TIL as an April Fool’s Day prank, Sports Illustrated fooled the NY Mets’ fan base by successfully convincing them the team had signed Sidd Finch, a pitching phenom who could throw the ball 168 mph. He learned the “art of the pitch” in a Tibetan monastery, under the “great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa.”