› added 1 year ago

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TIL Hoyt Axton wrote the number 1 hit Joy to the World, while his mother Mae wrote the number 1 hit Heartbreak Hotel

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g9wA TIL Robert Damiens, who tried to kill Louis XV, had his hand burned with sulphur. Molten wax, molten lead, and boiling oil were poured into him. Then he was partially dismembered by harnessed horses and the executioner completed it with an axe. Then his still-living torso was burnt at the stake.
VM5E8 TIL of Hypatia. She was a world-renowned female mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher of the 4th-century who was literally torn apart by oyster shells and set on fire by a mob of Christain zealots.
VBwP4 TIL that the construction the Three Gorges Dam in China displaced enough water to lengthen the earth's day by 0.06 μs.
Br5rb TIL that Roman Emperor Nero during gladiatorial fights looked at the arena through a concave emerald to eliminate the glare of the sun and his nearsightedness. Those may have been the first sunglasses in history.
1PRd TIL that the feminist anthem Respect was written and originally recorded by Otis Redding about a man asking for respect when he brings home money.