› added 5 years ago

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TIL The town of Salem, New Jersey once held a trial against tomatoes in 1820 because of the widespread belief they were poisonous. The case ended after Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson ate a basket of tomatoes without ill consequence.

Agrg TIL that South Africa was largely responsible for the global prohibition of Marijuana in 1925, based on one British doctors racist opinion from 1908 of how it affected Hindu laborers.
4XgVR TIL that Mr. Rogers responded to every fan letter he received. He would wake up 5 every morning, pray, and begin answering letters as part of his daily routine. Many children wrote to him about their personal issues, such as family members dying. He received between 50 and 100 letters every day.
pOXp TIL: There was an anti-car jacking device called the “Blaster” in South Africa, the occupant could flip a switch and direct 5 metre plumes of flame upward into the facial area of anyone trying to enter the vehicle through the doors or windows.
78wm7 TIL that in 2023, a team of doctors in Boston treated brain malformation in a baby while it was still in womb, by using ultrasound guidance, a needle, and tiny coils that were placed directly into the abnormal blood vessels to stop blood flow.
9YrYX TIL a "familiar stranger" is a term used by social scientists for strangers we see on a regular basis but with whom we don't interact. Familiar strangers are more than complete strangers but do not rise to the level of an acquaintance.