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TIL that Dummy, a deaf-mute fortune teller from Sible Hedingham, was accused of cursing Emma Smith in 1863. A mob beat him and threw him in a brook as an “ordeal by water.” He died of pneumonia in a workhouse. Two men were convicted of assault and sentenced to six months’ hard labour.

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em7n TIL The co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous believed LSD could be used to cure alcoholics and credited the drug with helping his own recovery from often debilitating depression.
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9pVX TIL telephone Area Codes in North America were assigned based on the length of time a rotary dial phone took to dial the area code, so larger cities have lower numbers.
MJMA TIL that Spock’s quote, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” was cited in a Texas Supreme Court decision.
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